Pikmin Worlds
by Snidian
Summary: Olimar and his family face new lands and new perils during their unforgettable mission on the Pikmin planet.
1. Prologue

Author's note: I do not own any of the characters in this chapter. However, I did think up names for Olimar's family members, because I do not know their real names.

**Pikmin Worlds: Prologue**

**The Phone Call to Adventure**

On a distant planet called Hocotate, many millennia in the future, one man will ride in a hovertaxi through the harsh deserts of the landscape. After many months of intergalactic travel and several amazing adventures on a new world, this man will finally return home to his loving family. His name is Captain Olimar, and he will hardly wait to see his wife's smiling face and his two beautiful children.

Olimar just came to his home planet a day ago, and much has happened since then. His boss, the President of Hocotate Freight, had given him a huge raise for saving the company from a massive debt, and decided to give him a week off from work to rest from his stressful travels. Normally, the President was much stricter than this, but the large fortune he had amassed recently kept him in a good mood. Louie, Olimar's assistant, was not so fortunate. When he returned from the wilds of the mysterious planet of the Pikmin, he insisted he be brought back to take his rightful place as the King of Bugs. He was accepted into a mental hospital a few hours later, where his mind would hopefully recover from the supposed trauma he experienced.

The taxi smoothly stopped in front of Olimar's home, and he stepped off. He was a short man, with a tuft of brown hair on his head and a big, round nose. He checked his bulging backpack for the gifts he was going to give to his wife. Sure enough, the Gemstar Husband and Gemstar Wife, two of the treasures he discovered during his adventures, glittered brightly next to each other. Olimar knew that these two large stones would make the perfect representation for his love for his family.

Olimar pressed a button near the door and shouted, "Hello, honey! I'm finally home!" He heard the sound of rushing footsteps, and the door swiftly opened to reveal his beloved wife Julie. She had a great big smile underneath her equally large nose, and her curly red hair glowed in the sun.

"Olimar! It's great to see you home, dear. The kids and I were worried that we may never see you again!" Julie proceeded to kiss Olimar gently on his nose.

"Wow! Dad's home!" shouted two voices from upstairs. Olimar's teenage daughter, Sadie, came down first and game her father a big hug. She was quickly followed by her brother Chip, who gave his father a high-five.

"Hey, Dad," piped Chip, who had a big nose just like his father, as well as thick, black hair, "Will you tell us some stories about your adventures with the Pikmin?"

"I would love to right away," replied Olimar, who was really looking forward to spending time with his family. However, just at that moment, his video phone beeped. "Let me deal with this quickly so we can start catching up with each other," he said as he turned the monitor on.

Olimar's glee quickly changed when the President's head appeared on the screen. "Olimar, my boy, you have to get back to that planet right away!" said the President in his unusually high voice.

"But sir, I thought that you let me take a week off to spend time with my family."

"Promises are made to be broken. The Hocotate Organization of Science and Environment has just issued a huge amount of Pokos to send you on a month long mission to study the planet's ecosystem. You can't just refuse an offer from a government-funded organization!"

"I'm sorry, sir, but I'm not about to leave my family to go on yet another life- endangering mission on that planet, and that's final!"

"Captain Olimar, either leave right away, or you're fired!"

While listening to this conversation with fear and confusion, a light bulb went on in Julie's head. "Why don't you bring us with you on this mission, dear? That way, we can spend time with each other and you could show us around that planet!"

Olimar was shocked by what he was hearing. "Honey, I refuse to put my family's lives in danger! You could get poisoned by oxygen, or chewed up by a giant bug, or stomped flat by an Arachnorb, or …"

"Actually, your wife does have an interesting idea," said the President. "With all the extra money we have, we can order a better ship and safer space suits for your family. Plus, I bet your kids would like the adventure." The president slyly winked at Chip.

"Yes, I would love to go on an adventure with Pikmin!" yelled Chip. "It will be so cool fighting all the bad bugs with Dad!"

Sadie joined in the conversation by replying, "I bet it would look really impressive on my college applications if I participated in a government funded program."

"What do you say dear?" asked Julie. "I would love to do something exciting for a change."

Olimar thought hard. As much as he didn't want his family to suffer any harm, he would love to show them the beauty of the Pikmin and the planet they live on. "Okay," said Olimar, "I'll do it for my family."


	2. Day 1

Author's note: I do not own any of the characters or creatures in this chapter. However, I did give names to Olimar's family members, because their real names are currently unknown.

**Pikmin Worlds: Day 1**

**A Lesson in Labor**

A great flash lit up the sky above the planet of the Pikmin as Olimar's new ship, the Porpoise, escaped from warp speed. This new ship was much sturdier than his original Dolphin, and far less sassy than his boss's ship, the Pod. The best aspect of the Porpoise, in Olimar's opinion, was that the cockpit had room for four individuals, and therefore could hold his entire family.

Olimar, who was already wearing his new space suit, was scanning the strange planet's surface for a possible landing site. His family was currently pulling on their own space suits below deck. These new outfits were designed to be fireproof, shockproof, resilient, and airtight to provide the most protection possible from nature's elements. Each uniform had a shining beacon at the top, which was used to communicate with others and even give commands to the unusual Pikmin creatures. Olimar's beacon was red, his wife Julie's was yellow, his daughter Sadie's was green, and his son Chip's was blue.

When everyone was prepared for landing, Olimar spoke into his intercom inside his helmet to tell his family exactly what to expect. "I have excellent news, family," he said. "The scanners have located a red, yellow, and blue Onion on the surface right next to each other right near where I first crash-landed! It seems that the Pikmin have finally learned all on their own to work as a team!" Olimar quickly started scribbling some notes down in his journal, where he would record all of the discoveries made on this mission. "We will be landing very shortly, so you will soon meet the Pikmin for the first time!" he exclaimed as he finished jotting down notes.

Julie, Chip, and Sadie looked out of the window with amazement in their eyes as saw their first glance at the planet's surface. Humongous trees sprouted everywhere, and the ground was covered in lush, green grass. They next saw the Onions, which looked very much like multicolored versions of the Hocotatian delicacy they were named after. After landing with a soft thud, they found themselves beamed out of the ship right in front of the Onions. The sun could be shining high in the clear, blue sky.

"Come here, my family," said Olimar as he rushed under the red Onion. Chip's eyes grew wide as he saw twenty of the little carrot-shaped creatures he had heard so much about slide down the Onion to once again greet their master.

"Wow, they do look just like Pikpik carrots!" exclaimed Chip as he ran to take a closer look.

"Slow down, son," yelled Olimar, "I'm not sure how they will react to a stranger rushing towards them."

However, when the red Pikmin saw the beacon on Chip's head, they reasoned that this creature was somehow related to their master. Several leaf Pikmin stepped forward to take a closer look with their wide, unblinking eyes.

"I don't like the way these things are looking at me," whined Chip.

"Please don't worry, son," laughed his father, "they only want to get to know you better."

All of a sudden, Julie called out to her husband, "These little guys are absolutely adorable!" as she scratched a yellow Pikmin behind its oversized ears. Sadie was also having a similar experience with some blue Pikmin she called out.

"I'm very glad that the Pikmin get along so well with all of us, but I'm afraid that I have to instruct you all how to use the Pikmin to battle and perform task." Sighed Olimar, who did not really want to interrupt the cute scene his family and the Pikmin were making. "First, let's try battling that Dwarf Red Bulborb over there," he said, pointing at a small, round, red creature with white spots. Chip immediately started rushing forwards with his red Pikmin.

"Wait, son, I have not yet taught you how to battle!"

"Don't worry, Dad, I remember when you told me how you beat up all the giant bugs you fought." Chip started to randomly throw his red Pikmin around, all missing the Dwarf Red Bulborb. Fortunately, the Pikmin were able to subdue the weak beast by whacking it with their leaves. "See, I can battle just as well as you!"

Olimar was about to explain a simpler way to defeat Bulborbs, when Sadie cried, "How dare you throw all of those Pikmin around, Chip. You're harming the little babies!"

"Don't worry, Sadie, Pikmin love to be thrown in the air." To prove his point, he called a yellow Pikmin forward and threw it towards a Pellet Posy. The Pikmin yelled "Yahoo!" as it landed perfectly in the middle of the flower, releasing its nutritious pellet. "As you can see, family," continued Olimar, "throwing Pikmin accurately is the most effective way to pass any obstacle we meet on this planet. Julie and Sadie nodded in agreement, while Chip yelled, "Hey, look at what I found!" He was standing right next to a much larger Red Bulborb, currently asleep, and was about to attack.

"Wait, Chip, it's too dangerous to attack such a large beast with only twenty Pikmin! Get away from there now!"

However, Chip had already thrown several Piknim onto the bug's face, and the Bulborb rose swiftly off the ground. Chip started to panic and run around in circles, forgetting completely about the Pikmin he had thrown, and three of them were devoured by the hungry creature.

Olimar started to scream into his intercom, telling Chip to calm down and call back his Pikmin, but Julie was angry at the Red Bulborb for scaring her son. Without thinking, she rushed forward and threw all twenty of her yellow Pikmin onto the Bulborb's back.

Olimar was about to call his wife back, but was cut off when Sadie yelled, "Don't worry, mother, I'll help!" His daughter threw all twenty of her blue Pikmin onto the bug as well, and then started to kick the monster in the legs. By now, the Buborb had had enough, and, letting out a small cry, collapsed onto the ground.

Chip quickly halted and prepared for a punishment for his brashness, but was surprised to hear his father applauding his family. "This is great!" exclaimed Olimar. "You all managed to take down a fully grown Red Bulborb with hardly any training! I am very proud of every one of you!"

"Dad, you're not mad that I accidentally let some Pikmin get eaten?"

"I wouldn't worry too much. The Pikmin are brave warriors, and are more than willing to sacrifice themselves for the good of the colony. Plus, that Red Bulborb corpse will more than make up for the loss."

Sadie interrupted her father to say, "Look, the sun is already setting."

Her father nodded his head. "Ah, yes. The days on this planet pass by notoriously quickly. Let the red Pikmin bring the bodies of each Bulborb to their Onion and prepare to depart. As his family prepared for the day's end, Olimar took out his journal and wrote down the notes of the day.

_Day 1: Landing site_

_The only breakthrough discovery made today was the gathering of the Pikmin Onions before landing on the planet surface. This proves the previous hypothesis that Pikmin have enough social intelligence to ally with each other without help._

_On a personal note, it is now my strong belief that my family truly has what it takes to survive on this hostile planet, and I could not be more proud. Now I feel that I can truly bond with them. Tomorrow I plan on taking them on a fieldwork mission, in the hopes of making new discoveries as well as showing my family how wonderful this experience will truly be for them._

Captain Olimar finished off his notes, and then stepped back into the Porpoise to discuss the first day of the mission with his family. The space ship's engine glowed brightly and lifted off, followed by three colorful Onions.


	3. Day 2

Author's note: I do not own any of the characters or creatures in this chapter. However, I have given Olimar's family members original names, because their real names are currently unknown.

**Pikmin Worlds: Day 2**

**The Gems and the Thieves**

As the sun rose over the calm meadow named the Landing Site, Olimar's vessel, the Porpoise, noisily clattered into a clearing, closely followed by three colored Onions. As the Onions released their landing appendages, the captain and his family were beamed out of the ship, ready to explore the ever-changing landscape of the unusual planet.

Chip, Olimar's son, spoke out, "Hey, Dad, can we go beat up some more bugs today?"

His father responded, "Only if we need to. Remember, this mission is about observing the natural behaviors of the wildlife here, not to destroy every bug that we see."

"Okay dad!" said Chip as he rounded up some blue Pikmin. "How about we explore the big pond to the West?"

"Actually, how about if you and your sister explore the area to the West, while me and your mother go study the area to the East?"

"Wait a minute," said Olimar's wife, Julie. "Are you sure that it's safe to split up like this?"

"I'm sure the kids will be fine on their own. Plus," whispered Olimar, "I have something special I would like to show you." Olimar then gave her wife a wink.

Julie wondered what the surprise would be as she gathered twenty yellow Pikmin. The two children had already left for the pond with fifty blue Pikmin, and her husband was ordering thirty red Pikmin to tear down a weak wall that was apparently made of an odd type of fungus. "Follow me," said Olimar as he led his wife and their Pikmin through a natural path. Julie was astounded by the huge flowers that lined the path, and even more astounded by the rich diversity of insects. A colorful cloud of Unmarked Spectralids, beautiful butterfly-like creatures, hovered above the path, while two Ravenous Whiskerpillars, bright orange, gentle worms, nibbled on some red berries. In the distance Julie could see another Red Bulborb sleeping peacefully in a patch of grass.

After walking for a while, taking in the scenery, Julie saw Olimar head towards a small clearing, characterized by a small, hollow stump. Olimar gestured to his wife to join him next to the stump, and then started to open his backpack.

"Honey, when I came home, I wanted to bring a gift to you as an apology for staying away for so long," said her husband. "During my treasure hunt on my last mission, I found these two sparkling gems." He then produced the Gemstar Husband and Gemstar Wife from his backpack. "I chose these two gems as my gifts to you, because they reminded me the great love we have for each other."

"Wow, that's beautiful. I don't know what to say." However, as Julie reached for the Gemstar Wife, an ugly brown insect snatched the gift from Olimar's hands. Olimar angrily called forth his red Pikmin as the bug started dragging its prize back to its nest.

"Don't worry, honey," said Olimar through his teeth. "I won't let this Breadbug take away your gift." Olimar then ordered the Pikmin to grab onto the Gemstar Wife. The Pikmin, being stronger than the Breadbug, started dragging both the creature and the treasure towards the Porpoise. Olimar then noticed that another Breadbug was dragging the Gemstar Husband into the woods. Olimar raced forward after the bug with the other half of his Pikmin.

"Julie, I'm very sorry about this. I only wanted to have a nice …Whoops!" Julie watched as blue, tubby insect rapidly flapping its oddly-shaped antennae swooped down and grabbed the red beacon on top of her husband's helmet. As Olimar started yelling for help, his wife quickly came to his rescue, throwing several yellow Pikmin at the Bumbling Snitchbug. The stunned insect fell to the ground, releasing his grasp on Olimar.

"Thanks for saving me, Julie. I'll go after that Breadbug while you handle that Snitchbug." Olimar rushed forward once again to apprehend the burglar, while Julie knocked out the captain-napper. Eventually, Olimar managed to get his Pikmin to grab the Gemstar Husband, and then ran back to his wife, his face having turned a deep red.

"Listen, honey, I must apologize for ruining our romantic moment," Olimar shamefully told his wife.

"Olimar, dear you didn't ruin anything at all," Julie said happily. "This adventure we had today means much more to me than any gems. Just sharing our experiences shows me how much you love me." Julie tried to give her husband a kiss, but instead their plastic helmets just pressed together.

Back at the Porpoise, Olimar and Julie found Chip and Sadie accompanying their blue Pikmin, which were carrying the bodies of some Sheargrubs. "Hi, Daddy," said Sadie. "We ran into some small enemies, as you can see, but our blue Pikmin took care of them easily."

"It's good to see that you two didn't have any hitches. Your mother and I had quite a battle with some Breadbugs. Is there anything interesting that you discovered?"

"Not much," said Chip. All we found today was a funny shaped white rock and a big, round orange one."

"Oh that's nice," said Olimar, but in reality he had become quite worried by his son's news. He remembered that the last big, round orange rock he had found was actually an egg containing a frightening monster. Olimar did not know anything about this creature at all, except that it harbored an extreme hatred of Pikmin and emitted an incredibly toxic gas. Olimar's thoughts raced as he recorded the day's notes in his journal.

_Day 2: Landing Site_

_This planet's seemingly simple organisms exhibit very mysterious behavior. Today, an encounter with a pair of Breadbugs (Pansarus Gluttonae) raised the question as to exactly why they instinctually gather as much material as they can inside their nests. The bodies of other organisms are presumably stored for food, yet one can only hypothesize their use for various inedible substances. Two hypotheses are that they either insulate their burrows against the cold, or decorate them to attract mates. Personally, after the experiences I have had today, I lean in favor of the latter._

_It has also come to my attention that an egg case of the rarely-seen, currently unclassified Smoky Progg may lay in the general area. Despite the danger, this opportunity must be taken in the name of science. I only wish that my family will not be harmed, and that less than 100 Pikmins' lives will be lost._

The captain scribbled down the last of his notes, then beamed himself into the Porpoise. He knew that he would have to come up with a plan for tomorrow's battle.


	4. Day 3

Author's note: I do not own any creatures or characters in this chapter. However, I thought up names for Olimar's family members because they do not have real names. (I also thought of a nifty "Latin" name for the Smoky Progg.)

**Pikmin Worlds: Day 3**

**Holy Smokes!**

As the Porpoise landed once more at the Landing Site, Olimar reviewed his plan one final time in front of his family. A single slip could spell the doom for many Pikmin, so it was imperative that everyone knew exactly how to handle their toughest challenge yet.

"So, in short," spoke Olimar, "we will gather a manageable party of fifty blue Pikmin, which Chip and Sadie have raised remarkably well yesterday." Olimar took a moment to smile at his children. "Chip will then lead all of us to the area where he saw the orange rock. Once there, if the rock is in fact an egg, we will order the Pikmin to break open a small fragment and attack the head of the Smoky Progg when it pokes out. I will then be able to gather a sample of its fumes for further study."

One by one, the brave crew left the safety of the ship and prepared the party of blue Pikmin. Olimar brought his family over to a nearby patch of grass and showed them how to raise flower Pikmin. While the Pikmin pulled the grass out and slurped up the nutritious nectar, he explained how the Pikmin gain strength and agility as they grow from leaf to bud to flower.

With the powerful army in tow, Chip led the way through the small Western pond. Halfway across, a couple of Water Dumples, small tadpole-like creatures with large jaws, tried to devour the Pikmin, but Chip quickly ordered the Pikmin to swarm them.

"Wow, Chip, you handle Pikmin with great expertise!" said his father.

"Thanks," replied Chip. "Maybe I can be as great as you someday. Well, I found the orange egg right behind the bushes on the other side."

"Okay, son, I'll go ahead and make sure that it's safe." Olimar climbed out of the water and silently crawled under the bushes. However, he immediately let out a yelp after viewing the scene.

"Dear, are you all right?" asked his wife Julie.

"The egg is gone! All that's left are some small orange bits of shell! Quickly, gather the Pikmin and head back to the Onions!"

"Dad, you're not giving up now, are you?" asked Chip.

All of a sudden, Olimar realized something more was wrong. "Chip, why are there only thirty Pikmin following you?"

"I ordered them to bring the Water Dumple bodies back to their Onion. Why do you ask?" Olimar remained silent as he hurried back to the Onions, while his confused family tagged behind.

Sure enough, all was not well back at the Onions. Blue Pikmin ran left and right as a dark green form lumbered around in hot pursuit. The front half of the beast was frightening enough, consisting of a wide mouth, beady white eyes, and bulky legs. However, the rear half of the Smoky Progg was the end to fear, as it was completely made up of an extremely toxic cocktail of gases. Just one puff of this mixture could asphyxiate a Pikmin within seconds.

Olimar arrived on the scene just as the deadly creature approached the new Pikmin sprouts that were created from the two Water Dumples. With a loud hiss, the Progg slammed the ground, causing the Pikmin to leap from the earth and run frantically.

"Go away, you ugly thing!" Olimar heard from behind him. To his surprise and horror, Sadie was rushing forward, ordering the remaining thirty blue Pikmin to swarm the monster.

"No, Sadie!" Olimar cried out. "You have to throw them onto its face!"

However, Sadie heard her father's advice a bit too late, and half of her battalion was lost underneath the creature's toxic cloud of a torso. She tried as hard as she could to throw the remaining fifteen Pikmin at the Progg's head, but her aim was off due to fear. Eleven Pikmin collapsed at the feet of the Smoky Progg, and the remaining four were easily shaken off. Sadie screamed and ran back to her family after she realized that she was out of Pikmin.

"Daddy, what do we do? That Progg won't let us go near the Onions, and no Pikmin can stand up to that poisonous gas!"

A light bulb suddenly turned on in Olimar's head. "Chip, quick, where did you find that oddly-shaped white rock?"

"It was on the other side of the brush where the egg was. How can that help?" said his son confused.

"I have a bold theory. Julie, I'm going to be gone for a short while. Go hide somewhere and watch the Progg's behavior if it changes until I get back."

Before his wife could reply, Captain Olimar handed her a notepad and ran as fast as he could back to the Western pond. Julie found a large rock to hide behind nearby and swiftly pulled her kids away from the Progg.

During this entire time, the Smoky Progg had not stopped stomping around the Onions. Although the Smoky Progg is not a very intelligent species at all, this specimen knew from instinct that Pikmin were bad and needed to go away. Even though the Onion site remained bare for a while, this creature would not take any chances and would make completely sure that every single Pikmin died, ran away, or returned to the Onion. Only after seven minutes did the Progg decide that the coast was clear. Olimar's family watched as the Progg started to settle down. Julie started taking notes as the monster started to swallow large mouthfuls of soil underneath the Onions.

Julie was sure that this new discovery would surprise her husband, but her thought process was interrupted by a loud hiss from the Progg. Julie watched as the creature started to regain its normal violent behavior and looked around for the cause.

With great glee, she cheered as Olimar rushed back to the Onions, followed by a hundred red-eyed warriors. As he ran towards the beast, Olimar shouted to his son, "Thanks, Chip, for discovering the first White Pikmin Onion!" With great skill, Olimar threw thirty of the White Pikmin at the Progg's face, causing it to hiss in pain. The creature leapt up and shook off the Pikmin, but started to panic when the Pikmin did not seem to choke on its fumes. With another loud hiss, the Progg picked up speed and lumbered right through the bulk of the Pikmin fleet, which did little more than scatter some of them. Olimar finished off the creature with a rapid-fire stream of White Pikmin. Olimar and his family watched as Progg's chemical makeup suddenly went haywire, causing the toxic fumes to burst into flames. Slowly, the Progg evaporated into the air, leaving only its small, marble-shaped cranium behind.

"Wow!" shouted Chip. "That was awesome! No bug can beat my Dad!"

The rest of the family cheered in agreement as Olimar somehow convinced the White Pikmin to carry the spoils to the Blue Onion. Olimar then received the notepad back from his wife, which he looked through with astonishment. "Let me record this in my journal while you all return the White Pikmin back to their Onion. I'm sure they will be willing to join us for the rest of the mission." While the family prepared to leave the Landing Site, Olimar jotted down the the discoveries of the day in his journal.

_Day 3: Landing Site_

_Before delving into the main discovery of the day, I shall first mention the discovery of a White Pikmin Onion. This subspecies of Pikmin was originally though to be birthed only through Candypop Buds, but now prove to live in Onions as well. This discovery suggests the possibility of a Purple Pikmin Onion as well, and I shall seek one tomorrow._

_Many new insights were made today concerning the Smoky Progg (Subliminifer Tenebra), which will now be classified under the Sublimander family of amphibians. Recent analysis of its toxic fumes showed a potent mixture of chlorine gas and nitrogen dioxide, which also explains the creature's greenish-black coloration. The Smoky Progg shows an incredible hostility towards Pikmin but does not eat them, which previously begged the question as to why they invade Onions. Close observation has proven that this creature feeds on the soil where Onions are found, likely due to its high levels of nitrogen. The awesome potency of this creature is now thought to be an extreme form of defense against a Pikmin attack._

Olimar finished his notes on the Smoky Progg, and then headed back to the Porpoise to find a new landing spot for tomorrow's adventure.


	5. Day 4

Author's note: I do not own the characters Olimar and his family, but I do own the false names given to Olimar's family members. I also do not own any creatures in this chapter, except for the "Kissing Beetle".

(P.S.: I have already compiled a personal list of all of the original creatures that will appear in this story, and will therefore not accept any creature recommendations.)

**Pikmin Worlds: Day 4**

**Purple Daze**

Throughout the entire night and next morning, the Porpoise's on board supercomputer labored without rest, scanning the entire surface of the Pikmin's planet. Captain Olimar had given it specific instructions to search for any signs of a Purple Pikmin Onion, but since no Hocotatian had ever seen one, the computer was having great difficulty in finding a suitable match. Only when Olimar was several hours behind schedule did the Porpoise make a reasonable decision.

"Captain," droned a robotic voice over the intercom, "several Purple Pikmin have been detected near an Onion-shaped craft. Analysis is only eighty-two percent accurate due to high levels of metallic interference. Shall I proceed?"

The Captain pulled out a microphone near the pilot's seat and replied, "Yes, those are reasonably good odds."

"Affirmative, Captain." The space ship, using highly advanced navigational equipment, proceeded to set its own course towards the new area. After only one hour, Olimar and his family looked out the windows of the craft to view the incredible landscape of the region. Large piled of metal could be seen for miles on, and towered to heights thousands of times greater than the average Hocotatian. While most piles of metal resembled mountains, a few were rectangular in shape and seemed almost unnatural. If Olimar hadn't known better, he would have thought that he was looking at the remains of a great city.

The Porpoise noisily landed in a small patch of grass near one of the mountains, followed by four Pikmin Onions. When Olimar and his family emerged from the Porpoise, they received further information from the ship's computer.

"My sensors indicate a small group of Purple Pikmin and an Onion somewhere underneath this spot. Also, water hazards and toxic gases have been detected underground; arrange your Pikmin army accordingly."

"Good work," said Olimar. "Julie, honey, you can get 30 blue Pikmin, and Chip can get 30 white ones. Sadie, get twenty each of the other two kinds, just in case. I will look for a way to get underground."

While the rest of his family got the Pikmin, Olimar took out his journal and started to take notes on the new land, which he had decided to name the Leviathan Ruins. While the ship had landed on a patch of grass, most of the ground was hard and rocky. Olimar could see a small group of Orange Bulborbs snoozing in the distance, but could not see any aquatic creatures that would suggest water hazards. In another patch of grass far away, Olimar could see an unusually large number of Swooping Snitchbugs feeding on large stalks of grass. However, what got his attention the most was a large circular hole right in the middle of the stony ground. Having finally found an entrance, Olimar called his family to the hole.

"Are you sure that it's safe to go into a pit like this?" asked Julie. "How would we ever be able to come back out?"

"If you listen closely, honey, you can hear the sound of rushing water coming from the hole. There must be a geyser down there that can safely blow us back to the surface."

"Well, I still don't know…" However, Chip and Sadie were very excited to begin their first spelunking expedition and jumped into the hole.

"Hey, kids, wait for us!" shouted Olimar as he saw seventy Pikmin jump in after their leaders. Olimar grabbed his wife's hand and hopped in himself, despite her reluctance.

However, upon their parent's arrival, Sadie and Chip were staring with wide eyes at the spacious interior of the cave. The walls seemed unusually smooth, and below the platform they were on they could see a large body of water resembling a river. However, unlike a river, the water was not flowing, and released a foul-smelling vapor.

"This place can't possibly support Purple Pikmin, or anything else!" complained Sadie, thinking that the Porpoise's calculations were wrong the whole time.

"Wait just one minute, Sadie," said Olimar. "You would be surprised at how life on this planet seems to adapt perfectly to every single possible habitat." To prove his point, Olimar gestured to a cluster of Glowcap mushrooms growing near the entrance. Without further ado, Olimar led his family and the Pikmin through the dimly lit cavern.

The Captain made more notes during the trek to the other side of the tunnel. Many gas-spewing spouts poked out of the ground, which were easily taken care of by the White Pikmin. Other than mushrooms, Olimar noted the presence of many new species of molds covering almost half of the cave surfaces. Olimar was disappointed that he did not discover any new fauna, but Chip shouted out when he made his own discovery.

"Hey, Dad, I can see the Purple Pikmin right ahead! There is even a big purple Onion! Let's go!" Chip started to rush forward again, while Julie yelled at his son to slow down.

However, Chip easily outran his mother and reached the Purple Pikmin before the rest of his family. However, when he called to them, they didn't seem to respond. All ten of them just lied around near the Onion, staring at their new guests.

"Dad, something is wrong with the Pikmin," cried Chip. "They don't like me!"

"Wait a minute," noticed Olimar, "why do these Pikmin have yellow eyes?" As he came forward for a closer look, Olimar heard a loud chirping noise come from the ceiling. Olimar jumped back as three unusual looking beetles sprang to the ground. He immediately recognized the creatures as an undiscovered species, and furiously started to write notes. These bugs had green heads and abdomens, and sported four well-developed legs, each with a pair of opposable appendages. The chirping sound came from a pair of clear, vestigial wings flapping rapidly. Each head contained a long "nose", two black compound eyes, a pair of short antenna, and, most noteworthy, a yellow gland exactly in the middle of the face. However, Olimar had little time to record all of this information, since each bug grabbed a Purple Pikmin, gave it a headbutt, and then tossed it at the family.

Taking charge, Olimar ordered his Pikmin to retreat, but not before five Yellow Pikmin were crushed under the weight of their purple counterparts. The Purple Pikmin proceeded to attack the army, picking off twelve more. Reluctantly, Olimar ordered his Pikmin to attack the growing Purple squad, but was surprised when the Purple Pikmin seemed to snap out a trance upon getting slapped with the swarm of flowers. The insects, realizing that they were out of ammunition, rushed at the army, trying to pilfer all the Pikmin they could carry. However, the Purple Pikmin now squealed out to Olimar and his family, seemingly begging to be thrown at their former captors. Sadie was the first to seize the opportunity and hurled one directly at the group of three beetles. They chirped in agony as the Purple Pikmin spammed into the ground, leaving them immobile. The creatures, now unable to defend themselves, quickly succumbed to the rest of the Pikmin army.

"Dad," said Sadie, "what were those things?"

"I'm positive that I have never seen them before," replied her father. "They are definitely a new species. Why don't you and the rest of the family raise the Purple Pikmin's numbers while I study one of these bodies?" Olimar proceeded to take a sample of the yellow gland fluid from the bug's head and analyze it while the rest of his family spent time with the Purple Pikmin. He then finished his notes for the day and reviewed them carefully.

_Day 4: Leviathan Ruins_

_The search for the Purple Pikmin Onion has led our studies to a vast mountain range rich in iron and other common metals. The mountains almost resemble buildings, which is what gave this region its name._

_Despite little vegetation, life continues to prosper in the region, even in a toxic underground river. This is where the Purple Pikmin Onion was found; although no evidence is present suggesting why the Purple Pikmin chose to live in such a harsh environment. One possible theory is that they have little competition for resources near the toxic river._

_Today also marks the finding of the first newly discovered organism since the beginning of the mission. The new insect had been named the Kissing Beetle (Mesmeri Seducus) and appears to be part of the Kettlebug family based on the long shape of the head. This species produces a fluid on a gland on its head that appears to have a relaxing effect on Pikmin. After applying the fluid to a Pikmin's body, the Kissing Bug appears to give commands to the Pikmin using a complicated pattern of chirps. This may be the first case of a species native to the planet that has evolved to utilize groups of Pikmin as tools for personal gain, and may actually use Pikmin to gather food as well as defend against predators._

_Tomorrow will be devoted to exploring the surface of the Leviathan Ruins, which should now be easier due to the assimilation of the Purple Pikmin. I have strong hopes that more new species will be discovered over the course of the mission._

Captain Olimar led his family towards a geyser after they deposited the Purple Pikmin, and they rode the blast of water back to the Porpoise. They dismissed the rest of the Pikmin and got into the ship. The Porpoise blasted into space, followed by all five Onions.


	6. Day 5

Author's note: I do not own any characters in this chapter, but I do own the fake names of Olimar's family members. The only new creature that I own is the "Salvaging Snitchbug".

**Pikmin Worlds: Day Five**

**The Bug-lar Alarm**

Several hours before sunrise, a small colony of insects began to stir underground. Yesterday, they had seen something unusual that they have never seen before: a large, flying hunk of metal. These insects loved metallic things, especially shiny colorful ones. They were not about to leave this weird and wonderful flying metal thing alone: they just had to have it. Therefore, several scouts left the nest early and silently flew over to the patch of grass where the flying metal object was seen before. Concealing themselves among the rubbish, they waited patiently for sunrise.

Captain Olimar, meanwhile, was busy at work trying to decide what today's mission would be. The underground river was still unexplored, and the surface of the region had barely been researched at all. The captain ultimately chose to study the large group of Snitchbugs he had seen the other day, and possibly discover their motives behind their instinctive Pikmin kidnapping behavior.

Once again, the Porpoise noisily plopped down at the Leviathan Ruin's landing area, and the five Pikmin Onions followed close behind. When Olimar and his family came out of the cramped quarters of the space ship to stretch, they had no idea that they were being watched.

"Well, family," stated Olimar, "today I think we should research the behavior of the Swooping Snitchbug."

"Not again!" complained Julie. "I already rescued you from one of those three days ago!"

"Actually, dear, that was a Bumbling Snitchbug. Swooping Snitchbugs are only interested in capturing Pikmin, though they quickly lose that interest once the Pikmin is caught. I plan to observe their natural behavior today, and therefore do not wish to engage in any battling." Olimar glanced at his son Chip upon saying this. "We should, however, assemble a small party of yellow Pikmin in case one decides to attack."

Sadie called out thirty yellow Pikmin from their Onion, and Olimar led the group across the stony path to the area he had seen the Swooping Snitchbugs feeding yesterday. Sure enough, about a dozen of the brown insects were lazily hovering about the area, feeding on long stalks of grass or just wringing their hands. Olimar started to take notes, while the rest of the family the creatures in silence. However, this did not last very long, for Chip impatiently cried, "I'm bored!" after only a few minutes.

Several Snitchbugs were startled by the noise and flew over to investigate. Spotting the yellow Pikmin, each bug swooped down and snatched a couple while Olimar was busy hushing his son.

"Quick, honey," cried Julie, "two of those things just swiped some Pikmin!" While Olimar prepared to retaliate, Chip struck first with a large volley of Pikmin. Knocking the Snitchbugs and their captives to the ground, Chip ordered the Pikmin to finish off the foes.

"Wait, Chip, we don't want to harm these creatures! Just leave them alone, and we can watch them from somewhere else." Chip reluctantly gathered the Pikmin and led them away from the bugs, who returned to join their kin.

Olimar immediately spotted a new spot to observe the bugs, and directed his family onto a small hill. From this angle, the family could see a large section of the surface, and it did not take long to make a new discovery.

"Hey, dear, I think there are more Snitchbugs flying across the path," observed Sadie. She pointed at a group of three insects that were obviously Snitchbugs, but had a silvery exoskeleton and beady red eyes. They appeared to be carrying a slab of red material.

"Great job, Julie," replied Olimar excitedly. "I've never seen this kind of Snitchbug before. In fact, I've never even seen any creature on this planet other than Pikmin and Bulbears that are capable of teamwork! This is a breakthrough discovery!"

While Olimar was furiously scribbling down more notes in his journal, Sadie was busy looking at the red object these new Snitchbugs were carrying. "Haven't we seen something shaped like that before?" she asked her father.

Olimar immediately stopped writing and did a double take. "Oh my goodness, that's one of the Porpoise's fins! We've got to get it back before sunset. Quick, Chip and I will handle these, while you and your mother go back to the Porpoise and guard it from any more of these fiends!"

Chip and Olimar approached the bugs while Julie and Sadie rushed back to the ship. What they say was a shocking sight. Two of the Porpoises fins had been ripped off, and three more of the silvery bugs were halfway finished with yanking off the third fin. They seemed to ignore the fact that the ship was loudly droning "Malfunction. Malfunction." However, they immediately started to speed up their job when they saw Julie and Sadie withdraw thirty more yellow Pikmin from the Onion. Pulling hard, they broke off the fin from the spaceship and proceeded to making their getaway.

Julie and her daughter were not about to let these insects fly away. Working as a team, they flung several yellow Pikmin at one of the Snitchbugs. The frightened insect let go of the red sheet of metal and flew away, causing the other two bugs to come crashing down. Sadie called the yellow Pikmin to her side fast before they were crushed underneath the weight of the heavy fin. Now that only two Snitchbugs were left, they could no longer lift the fin, but they still attempted to drag their prize away from their enemies. Julie ordered the Pikmin to swarm the easy targets, and the remaining Snitchbugs decided to flee instead of fight. Enjoying their victory, the mother and daughter ordered the Pikmin to bring the fin back to the ship. Along the way, they found Olimar and Chip following their Pikmin, who had also obtained one of the Porpoise's fins.

"I have good news and bad news," stated Captain Olimar. "The bad news is that it's getting late, and we will have to find the last fin tomorrow if we wish to continue our mission on time. The good news is that I've recorded a great deal of information regarding our new discovery!" Olimar showed his wife the day's notes, which primarily described the new species of Snitchbug.

_Day 5: Leviathan Ruins_

_Today marks the discovery of a new species of Scarpanid, the Salvaging Snitchbug (Scarpanicus Filchium). Like all members of the Snitchbug genus, the Salvaging Snitchbug instinctively steals objects, in this case inorganic material. This insect is the first of its kind to portray an interest in what it steals, and does not seem willing to part with its spoils. Most miraculously, Salvaging Snitchbugs work together to gather items, which marks a rare possibility for social intelligence on this planet. While the utility obtained from gathering apparently worthless junk remains unknown, the Salvaging Snitchbug's lifestyle represents a crucial mark in the possible evolution of a civilization and suggests possibly more intelligent life on this planet._

Captain Olimar's family gathered into the Porpoise to leave, but underground the day was still not over. Three Salvaging Snitchbugs carried the third fin back to their nest, making happy clicking noises to each other. One of the Snitchbugs, though, was starting to lose its grip, and lowered one side of the fin to get a better hold. At that moment, a huge spine violently jabbed out of the toxic river, skewering the Snitchbug and frightening off its two siblings. The fin made a loud splash, and then slowly sank to rest at the bottom.


	7. Day 6

Author's note: I own none of the characters in this chapter, but I do own the fake names of Olimar's family members. I also own the new creature that appears in this chapter, the "Helmet Crawbster" (not to be confused with the "Hermit Crawmad", which does not appear in this chapter and which I do not own).

**Pikmin Worlds: Day Six**

**Impending Dome**

Captain Olimar woke up very early the next morning and went to work right away. He had to program the Porpoise's supercomputer to scan the entire Leviathan Ruins for the ship's missing fin; if the fin was not recovered, the ship ran the risk of crashing into uncharted territory and breaking beyond repair. Even if the fin was found, Olimar feared, the Salvaging Snitchbugs might have bent the fin's delicate frame, rendering it utterly useless. The only precaution Olimar could make now was to turn on the Porpoise's anti-theft device upon landing; any Snitchbug that so much as touched the ship would be given a painful electric shock.

After several hours of intense searching, the Porpoise's scanners picked up the signal from its missing component. The robotic voice announced, "Captain, the target has been located underground, about 75.443 units South Southeast of the cavern entrance. The target is confirmed to be currently undamaged."

"This is excellent news," stated Olimar. "Commence landing sequence, but try to be steady."

Unfortunately, since the ship had one fin missing, its landing was rather erratic, and the hard landing caused everyone else on board to jump up. The Pikmin Onions followed with much smoother landings. Olimar told his family about the discovery as he withdrew fifty blue Pikmin, thirty white Pikmin, and twenty purple Pikmin.

"The missing fin is in that underground river we visited two days ago. If we simply search the perimeter using the Porpoise's hover pod, we can recover the ship part without any trouble. I am bringing these Pikmin in case we run into any unexpected enemies."

"Well, I'm glad that this time we are going somewhere familiar," said his wife Julie. After all that she had witnessed over the past week, she was not at all in the mood for surprises. She and her children followed Olimar to the large hole in the ground and hopped in, closely followed by their Pikmin. After landing in a soft pile of mold, they looked upward to see their ship's nozzle floating down the hole to join them.

"Analysis shows that the target is underwater," droned the machine. Olimar told his family to wait near the Porpoise's pod while he took the blue Pikmin to the dirty water's edge. However, when he walked into the river, the blue Pikmin began to gag and sputter, coughing up the murky liquid from their mouth-like gills. Olimar hurried back out of the river and quickly called his party to him. All fifty Pikmin returned to his side, covered with filth but alive.

"It seems that this water contains more pollutants than the Pikmin can handle," noted Olimar. Calling out to his family, he shouted. "Honey, kids, you stay with the Pikmin and follow me from the shore. I'll stay in the shallows so you can see me." The blue Pikmin returned to their other three masters as Olimar waded into the water until only his red beacon was visible.

Following directions given by the Porpoise, Olimar blindly marched onward, feeling his way around the water. The water was too murky to see anything, but his radar could not detect any obstacles in the way. After walking for a very long time, he heard his wife say, "Can you please stop for a minute?"

"Of course, honey, but why?"

"We just ran into some more Kissing Beetles," Julie said over the space suit's intercom. Olimar could also hear the faints sounds of Pikmin battle cries and insect chirps emanating from the water's surface, but was sure that his wife and children could handle the relatively weak enemies. At the same time, the Porpoise's pod's alarm went off, indicating that the missing fin was very close by. Daringly, the Captain trudged into deeper water, groping around for the missing component. Therefore, when the Pikmin had defeated the beetles, Julie could not find Olimar anywhere.

"Olimar, where are you? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, dear; I'm just looking for that fin. I know that it must be very close by. Wait a minute, I think I found something! It's hard, smooth, and round, so it must be the fin!"

"Congratulations on finding the fin, dear, but how are we going to get it out of the water?"

"Don't worry, honey. I'm dragging it to the surface right now. The Pikmin can take it to the Porpoise as soon as it's out of the water."

"Wow," thought Julie, "those missions have certainly made Olimar stronger." As she watched Olimar's beacon emerged from the murky water, though, she realized in horror that he was not dragging that object at all; the object was dragging itself. Slowly, a large, brown, perfectly round hemisphere emerged from the river. Underneath this shell, two small claws pulled the heavy body onto dry land. In the front, a flat red head appeared, complete with two simple eyes and two pairs of pulsing mandibles. In the back protruded a long brown tail, serrated at the edges and sharpened to a fine point. Olimar, who still could not see anything due to the muck on his helmet, fell over in surprise as the giant crab-like creature made a loud cooing noise.

"Honey, what is it?" asked the confused Captain. "I can't see or hear a thing, so you're going to have to speak more clearly and help me wipe this stuff off." Julie grabbed her husband by the arm and pulled him away from the angry beast. Obviously perturbed by the intruders, the crustacean dragged its body forward in hot pursuit.

Julie tried to wipe as much gunk off of her husband's helmet as she could, but only succeeded in smearing the slime around. "It's all right, dear, I can still see a little bit," Olimar told his wife. "I'll bet that that creature swallowed the fin. You and the kids take care of it while I take notes; this creature marks yet another discovery!"

Olimar stumbled a safe distance away while Julie prepared to attack the beast. The crab cooed loudly upon seeing the approaching Pikmin army, and Julie could tell that this creature was not going to run from this fight. However, since nobody had ever seen this creature before, Julie was completely unprepared when the crab made a complete 180-degree turn and started to charge the Pikmin in reverse. The sharp tail of the beast, which was apparently used as a weapon, thrashed side to side as the crab lumbered towards the Hocotatians and the Pikmin. Before Julie realized what was happening, ten Pikmin were hacked apart by the sword-like appendage. Julie called the Pikmin away from the rear of the creature, followed by her children, and they decided that they should try to stay in front of the creature to avoid the deadly tail. When they drew nearer to the crab, however, it quickly turned around and continued its backward assault.

Olimar, realizing that his family needed advice, called out, "Try splitting up; I don't think that thing can chase three parties of Pikmin at once!"

Chip took control of the purple Pikmin and ran to the monster's left, while Sadie gathered the white Pikmin and headed right. Julie continued to lead the blue Pikmin away from the tail, which was slowly gaining on her. Suddenly, the crab, overwhelmed by the multiple targets circling its body, revolved 360 degrees, knocking down both siblings with its tail. Exhausted by its efforts, the crab stopped moving to catch its breath.

"Honey, now is your chance!" shouted Olimar. "If my hypothesis is correct, you should be able to damage the armored beast if you flip it on its back."

"How am I supposed to do that?" thought Julie. She grabbed some blue Pikmin and hurled them onto the crab's shell, but the Pikmin just slid right off the smooth surface. Sadie attempted a more direct assault, ordering the white Pikmin to swarm the crab, but the shell seemed almost impenetrable. Chip, coming up with a bold plan, took his purple Pikmin and tossed them at the flat red head of the creature. The sheer force of the Pikmin stomping on the crab's head shifted the center of gravity so much that the beast finally rolled forward onto its back, revealing its bright chartreuse innards. Cooing angrily, the crab clawed the air as Chip threw the rest of the purple Pikmin onto its insides. Green fluid spurted everywhere as the crab was beaten mercilessly by the Pikmin. After receiving considerable damage, the crab flicked its tail into the ground with a burst of strength, vaulting itself upright and hurling the purple Pikmin into the water.

"Quick, Chip, go rescue those Pikmin!" his father shouted. "They are the key to success!"

While Chip rushed off to save the drowning comrades, Sadie and Julie were left to fend off a much angrier beast. Despite its wounds, the crab would not back off from the battle, and continued to pursue the Pikmin swarm in reverse. In an attempt to draw the crustacean away from Chip, Sadie began throwing a mix of blue and white Pikmin onto its head. The crab did not flip over, but it did complete another 360-degree spin, hurling away the irritants. While regaining its composure, the crab cooed loudly as Chip returned with the purple Pikmin in tow. Forced once again onto its back, the creature tried to get back up, but had already lost much of its energy. The Pikmin whacked the belly of the creature with full force, and then hopped off when the crab made a horrible screeching noise.

The family watched as the crab's green organs began to rupture, and then explode into several globs of goop. The creature cooed weakly as the Porpoise's missing fin fell out of its carapace, along with billowing clouds of steam. The creature waved its mandibles in the air, perhaps taking its last breath, as its body went still.

Olimar, who still had some gunk on his helmet, cautiously approached his family to congratulate them. "That was an outstanding battle! I have never seen you work so well as a team before! I also took a lot of notes on that new type of Creep-Crab, so we are still up to date on the mission. Let's take that body back to the Porpoise along with the fin; I'm willing to bet that the scientists back on Hocotate would like to examine it.

Olimar commanded the Pikmin to bring the body of the crab and the fin back to the Porpoise. At the landing site, he also ordered the Pikmin to collect the bodies of five Salvaging Snitchbugs that had gathered near the Porpoise. As the Porpoise began to reconnect the fin, Olimar looked over his notes describing the new species he had discovered.

_Day 6: Leviathan Ruins_

_During today's recovery mission, we stumbled across a new species of Creep-Crab. This creature was given the name Helmet Crawbster (Parastacoidea Militans), which accurately describes the crab's hard, dome-like carapace. The Helmet Crawbster, like its cousin the Segmented Crawbster, is capable of breathing in even polluted air or water thanks to a special straining system located near the gill slits on the creature's head. While the Helmet Crawbster only has two legs, which are used to pull the crab's body, the tail of the creature underwent an atypical evolution to gain several key uses. Listed among those uses include a method for righting itself when flipped over and as a means of self-defense. Like all members of the Creep-Crab family, the Helmet Crawbster is incredibly territorial and will mercilessly slash away at any intruder._

_Tomorrow marks the exploration of a new area. Tonight I will send an e-mail to HOSE, the Hocotate Organization of Science and Environment, to exchange information and ask for suggestions for new possibilities for discovery on this mission. _


	8. Day 7

Author's note: I do not own most of the stuff in this chapter. I do own the fake names of Olimar's family members, the guy in charge of HOSE, the binomial nomenclature for the "Goolix", and my latest creation, the "Goolena". (P.S.: I found this chapter boring, but it just had to be written.)

**Pikmin Worlds: Day 7**

**Slime of our Lives**

As the Porpoise orbited high above the Pikmin planet's surface, Olimar awoke with a jump to the sound of the computer's ring tone. Although early in the morning, Olimar stretched and shuffled over to the monitor to check his e-mail. To his surprise, instead of the usual e-mail from his boss, the president of Hocotate Freight, the message on the screen was from the superintendent of HOSE himself! Olimar opened the e-mail and looked over its contents.

_Captain Olimar,_

_We feel honored to have such a great captain like you working for our cause, and the notes you have been sending have been absolutely groundbreaking. Now that you and your crew have taken sufficient time to familiarize yourselves with the Pikmin, I feel that now is the time that we make a few suggestions for research topics. For the next few days, we would like you to research the Goolix, a creature we have little information on but think may hold a primary key in the evolution from single-celled to multi-celled life. I have taken the liberty of downloading instructions to find a Goolix colony into your computer's navigational systems. I look forward to your new discoveries._

_Neville T. Resting_

_HOSE Superintendent_

"Captain," droned the computerized voice over the intercom, "a large colony of Goolix has been detected. Analysis is one-hundred percent accurate. Shall I proceed?"

"Yes, you may proceed," replied Olimar. In his mind, however, Olimar was split between whether he actually wanted to study the Goolix or not. He believed that the Goolix was an interesting creature, as it was currently the only member of an entirely new phylum he had discovered himself: the macrokaryotes. However, Olimar was worried that the rest of his family would find studying what were essentially large blobs of ooze quite boring.

As the Porpoise began its descent, Olimar noticed that the scenery had drastically changed. Instead of large, metallic mountains, the landscape was made up of flat marshland broken only by the occasional tree. Goolixes could be seen in huge clusters on the ground; the Porpoise was certainly correct in its choice for a new region. The Porpoise landed in a small mound of mud overlooking a vast lake on one side, and was followed faithfully by the Pikmin Onions. As Olimar and his family left the Porpoise to collect Pikmin, Sadie was the first to comment on the new land.

"Gross! Dad, what were you thinking of when you chose to land in a slime field?"

"Actually, Sadie, those are the Goolix that we are going to study for the next few days." replied Olimar.

"Do we have to?" asked Chip.

"Yes, but I bet that you'll find the Goolixes to be more interesting than you think," lied his father.

Not at all fooled by his father's lie, Chip proceeded to get some Pikmin from the Onions. "Wait, son," called out his father, "we won't need any Pikmin today. We can probably observe these Goolixes close up without any danger, and even if they do attack, we can easily outrun them."

"Come on, Dad, can I battle just one? Please? You can even send it back to Hocotate for research or something."

Olimar sighed, and said, "Fine, but only one. Just make sure you use blue Pikmin only."

Chip responded by running back to the blue Onion. While the rest of the family was heading into the marsh to do some research, Chip led forty of his blue Pikmin towards a Goolix that was lying around in the open. When he drew nearer, he noticed that two nuclei were floating in the Goolix's gelatinous form. "Dad, are Goolix supposed to have two nuclei?"

Olimar's responded through the helmet's voice box. "Yes, Chip. One of the nuclei functions as a brain, and the other is used as a muscle to move the entire organism."

Chip could not tell which was which, but did not care as he threw his Pikmin at the slime ball. He was surprised to see his blue Pikmin pass through the Goolix's cell membrane and proceed to attack one of the nuclei. The disturbed macrokaryote forced its two nuclei together, making a clicking noise and propelling the Pikmin out its body. Boldly, Chip then ordered all of his Pikmin to swarm the inside of the Goolix, joining them inside of the creature. Overwhelmed, the Goolix let its nuclei sink to the ground, allowing its watery body to collapse. Before Chip could say "that was too easy," several smaller blobs of ooze emerged from the ground. Chip proceeded to call to his father to come and see these weird creatures.

As Olimar came running, Chip watched as the little single-celled creatures began to absorb the spilled body fluids of the Goolix. He noticed that unlike the Goolix, these creatures had relatively well-defined organelles. Chip could make out a digestive system of sorts filled with purple fluid, a red ball near the "head", and a thin but powerful tail. However, Chip started to lose interest as Olimar appeared, and started throwing at the new creatures.

"Wait a minute, I haven't even taken any notes on this yet!" cried Chip's father as the Pikmin made contact. Purple fluid sprayed onto the ground, but amazingly, the new creatures didn't seem to notice anything at all. Olimar watched in fascination and took notes as his son threw Pikmin after Pikmin at the new discovery without any noticeable harm.

"What's up with these things, are they indestructible or something?" cried Chip in frustration.

Olimar calmly replied, "Perhaps these creatures aren't harmed by Pikmin. However, that purple fluid seems familiar." Olimar walked up to the scattered purple droplets and sucked them up into his space suit's analyzer. "Very interesting," said the captain as he viewed the results on his portable computer.

As the sun started to set, Chip told his blue Pikmin to bring back the leftover rock-hard brain/nucleus of the Goolix, while Olimar finished his notes on today's discoveries.

_Goolix Gardens: Day 7_

_Today we landed in a vast marsh heavily populated by the largely unstudied Goolix (Chaos Uligo). This area seems largely cut off from predators and the grounds completely lack flowering plants, making this area essentially a Goolix paradise. This creature, the first member of the Macrokaryote family discovered, feeds on microscopic plants, which are absorbed directly into the body of the creature. Interestingly, unlike other single-celled creatures, the Goolix has two nuclei. For this reason, the Goolix is suspected to be the missing link between single-celled and multi-celled life._

_Today also marks the discovery of another member of the Macrokaryote family, the Goolena (Chaos Smooshii). This creature is a scavenger that feeds off the remains of the Goolix and, very likely, other creatures. Although single-celled, this creature contains organelles that resemble those of more complex organisms, including a digestive system and even a primitive eye. The biological makeup of this squishy creature allows it to retain its form no matter what kind of force is acted upon it. Therefore, it cannot be injured by a physical assault, although it does eject a purple fluid upon doing so. This fluid acts as a digestive enzyme, and may also work as an Ultra-Bitter Spray in the field._

_Tomorrow, I hope to make even more scientific breakthroughs regarding the misunderstood, albeit gooey, macrokaryotes._

As Olimar's family and the Pikmin lifted off into the night sky, a small battalion of warriors became active a long distance away. Unknown to Olimar, these creatures began to head to the Goolix Gardens in their own quest: to claim the land as their own.


	9. Day 8

Author's note: I do not own any characters in this chapter, only the fake names of Olimar's family members, as always.

**Pikmin Worlds: Day 8**

**Guarding the Garden**

As the Porpoise prepared to return to the Goolix Gardens, Captain Olimar received an unexpected message from the ship's intercom. Listening closely, Olimar jotted down notes while the computerized voice described the unexpected delay.

"Captain, I am receiving many signals of great activity on the surface of the Goolix Gardens. Scanners indicate that many stone-like creatures are roaming the surface, possibly cluttering the landing area. The descent has a 15 probability of striking one of these creatures, possibly damaging the hull. Shall I proceed?"

Olimar thought about this for a while, and then told the computer's mainframe, "Yes, you may proceed. If these creatures you are describing are what I think they are, they should be smart enough to avoid the ship."

"Affirmative, Captain." The Porpoise proceeded to travel on its course back to the planet's surface, and Olimar looked out the window to see a truly shocking scene. Where most of the Goolixes were originally lying, brightly colored flowers now grew in their places. Many grey, round creatures were tending to these plants, while others drove the remaining Goolixes towards the lake. The Porpoise and the Pikmin Onions managed to land in a patch of Pellet Posies while the odd creatures were rushing to aid their comrades.

Olimar quickly got out of the Porpoise and raced to withdraw all sixty of the purple Pikmin. As he dashed to the red Onion, his wife Julie spoke up. "Honey, what's the rush? Also, how did all of these flowers get here overnight?"

Olimar took a deep breath, and then told his family about the current situation. "These rock-like creatures are Mamutas, relatively evolved but practically unclassifiable animals. They feed off of the seeds of plants that they have learned to cultivate themselves. However, flowering plants deprive the soil of nutrients that the Goolixes need to survive. As a result, the common Mamuta is contributing to the near extinction of the Goolix. We have to do what we can to prevent this from happening!"

Olimar withdrew forty red Pikmin and started to divide the army among the family. Julie, Chip, and Sadie each received twenty of the burly purple Pikmin, while Olimar kept the forty, slightly less tough red Pikmin.

"Wait a minute," said Sadie, "we can't possibly defeat all of these Mamutas! They will defeat all of the Pikmin for sure!"

Olimar sighed and said, "Mamutas do not harm Pikmin directly, they only plant them back into the ground. As long as you pull the Pikmin back out, there is no reason why we can't defeat the Mamutas without a single loss."

The family split up, each member heading towards a different cluster of Mamutas. At least fifty of the lopsided creatures were hard at work planting seeds into the ground, and in their intense concentration did not notice the approaching Pikmin and their masters. Only when the Pikmin were hurled en masse at the Mamutas did they begin to retaliate.

For the next hour or so, the Pikmin and the Mamutas engaged in fierce combat. The Mamutas fought ferociously, repeatedly pummeling Pikmin into the earth, but the Pikmin countered with overwhelming force when pulled back out of the ground. The Mamutas' numbers dropped one by one as the battle continued to move towards the sprawling lake. Eventually, the two armies reached the lake's edge, where the Mamutas were holding their last stand.

"Were doing great, everyone," Olimar told his family. "We're almost done."

At that moment, Julie pointed out into the lake. "We better retreat; there is a huge wave approaching!"

Olimar immediately called back his red Pikmin and ordered his family to do the same with the purple Pikmin. As the family headed inland, the Mamutas also noticed the danger and tried to run away. However, their stubby legs made it impossible to outrun the wave, and every single remaining Mamuta wash washed away into the lake.

Olimar, his family, and the Pikmin watched as the last Mamuta was engulfed by the water. "Well," said Olimar, "we have managed to save most of the Goolixes. Let's go bring these remaining Mamuta bodies back to the Onions."

"Wait, aren't you going to take any notes on the Mamutas or something?" asked his daughter Sadie.

"Today's victory over the Mamutas cannot be expressed in mere notes," replied her father. "Tomorrow, we will explore that lake more thoroughly."

For the rest of the afternoon, the family brought the dead Mamutas to the purple Onion and collected more Ultra-Bitter Spray from the Goolenas that appeared to feed on the bodies. At the end of the day, the Porpoise blasted off along with the five Onions, leaving the Goolix Gardens to once again be repopulated by the Goolixes.


	10. Day 9

Author's note: The only new thing that I own in this chapter is the Goonami. Also, for the first time, I request reviews regarding the Goonami, as it is in my opinion one of my better ideas for a monster.

**Pikmin Worlds: Day 9**

**Go With the Flow**

For the third time, the Porpoise and the five Pikmin Onions descended into the Goolix Gardens. Olimar looked out the window and smiled to see the Goolix repopulating the landscape. However, he had work to do, so he headed towards the blue Onion upon leaving the ship.

"As you may recall," stated Olimar to his family, "yesterday I said that I wanted to explore that lake more closely. The reason I want to do this is because the computer has been receiving odd sound waves emanating from the bottom of the lake. This phenomenon has never been witnessed before, and I believe that a new species is lurking in the lake. I do not know what to expect, so I believe we should bring a full party of one hundred blue Pikmin."

The family withdrew the blue Pikmin and headed towards the lake. Many Goolixes dotted the path to the water, but fortunately they were placid enough to leave the Pikmin alone. Upon entering the water, Olimar made a new discovery regarding the Pikmin.

"Wow, this is new," he stated, pointing at the Pikmin swimming on the surface. "Normally, blue Pikmin walk on the bottom of bodies of water. The high concentration of solutes in this lake must be allowing the Pikmin to float on the surface." Olimar scribbled this down in his notes, which happened to be waterproof. Continuing onward, the family walked into deeper water, and the Pikmin dove down to join them.

The bottom of the lake consisted of a few boulders, layers of muddy sediment, and a small basin in the middle. Strangely, not a single animal or plant was to be found, which puzzled Olimar. According to his scanners, the water was perfectly suitable for life, yet he could not find anything at all, not even the Mamutas that had been washed away yesterday. It was then that a very low-frequency boom was picked up by his spacesuit's sensors.

"The noise is coming from the basin," said Olimar. "The animal that we are looking for has probably buried itself under the lake bed." Cautiously, the family continued, with their Pikmin swimming overhead. Olimar noticed that the booms were becoming more frequent as they neared the basin. Soon, the sediment in the lake started to stir.

"The animal is emerging, family, so be ready with the Pikmin in case it attacks."

Slowly, a glowing pink form began to twist its way out of the basin. The entire creature was spherical in shape and covered in fleshy lumps. Olimar started to take notes right away, immediately recognizing the creature as a new species of macrokaryote. However, his note taking was cut off by another loud boom as the pink blob pulsed its body, and two of the lake's boulders began to lift from the ground. Olimar could only think to run as the boulders came hurtling towards his family.

Chip, who was more than willing to battle the swollen creature, commanded twenty of the blue Pikmin to attack it. He immediately regretted the idea, however, when all twenty were electrocuted upon touching the surface of the lake monster.

"Dad, blue Pikmin don't work against it! We can't win!" Chip cried as he dodged one of the boulders. Sadie and Julie, meanwhile, were gathering the Pikmin in order to retreat. Olimar thought very hard as to how the macrokaryote could be beaten. He looked at the Pikmin, then at the creature's body, then at the boulders. Suddenly, the solution came to him.

"Everyone, order the Pikmin to attack the boulders!" Julie and Sadie did just that, and all eighty blue Pikmin headed to one of the boulders. The creature seemed to take no notice as the Pikmin whacked the boulder into submission. However, Olimar noticed that the other boulder was heading towards the Pikmin, obviously intent on grinding them down. Quickly, Olimar ordered half of the blue Pikmin to redirect their attack to the second boulder. Soon, the Pikmin had the two boulders under their control.

Olimar asked his family to stand aside and let him and the Pikmin handle the beast. The Pikmin swam towards the macrokaryote, this time with the two boulders in tow. At Olimar's signal, the Pikmin brought the two boulders onto opposite sides of the pink blob, and then started swimming towards each other. The odd creature started to make convulsions as it was sandwiched between its own boulders, producing more loud booms in the process. When the two groups of Pikmin had almost reached each other, the macrokaryote exploded into a mass of pink bubbles, leaving an odd, flat, rubbery apparatus to sink to the bottom of the basin.

"Well," said Olimar, "we don't need to worry about him anymore. Julie, Chip, Sadie, you bring that odd item back to the Porpoise while I finish up my notes. As the family gathered the blue Pikmin and their oddly-shaped trophy, Olimar finished up his notes for the day.

_Day 9: Goolix Gardens_

_Today we explored the wide lake located near the gardens. Inhabiting this lake was a sole macrokaryote, which I have appropriately named the Goonami (Chaos Flumen). Apparently, the Goonami is made up of only a nucleus, and instead of cytoplasm uses lake water to support itself. The Goonami requires a great deal of nutrition to support itself, and therefore eradicates all other forms of life in its pond in order to eliminate competition for resources._

_At first glance, the Goonami seems to have some sort of psychic control over the water and boulders in the lake, but closer examination reveals this to be false. The Goonami releases tiny eggs into the water, which attach themselves to hard objects in the lake. These eggs sprout cilia, which the main nucleus can control with electric pulses. This behavior explains the fact that it can seemingly cause boulders to levitate, and also explain the loud booms that it emits._

_Tomorrow I plan on checking on a more familiar landscape, the Forest Navel._

Olimar put his notes away and went back onto dry land, where the family was having trouble getting the Porpoise to accept the yellow object.

"Honey," said his wife, "the Porpoise's computer says it lacks the software needed to collect stray objects, and it asked me for its permission to connect with the President's Pod. Is it alright that I said yes?"

"I guess so," mumbled Olimar, who knew what was about to happen.

Sure enough, when the ship's speakers came on, the original deep voice of the Porpoise's computer was replaced by the buzzing voice of the Pod's computer. "Olimar, how could you go on another mission without me? I'm obviously the best ship on Hocotate for the job. How can you possibly stand riding in a ship with no personality?"

"I'm very sorry, I wanted to ride you," lied Olimar, "but you only have room for two people, and my family has four."

"BRRZZTT! Apology accepted. So, do you need my superior item-scanning abilities? Here, let me beam up this yellow thing you found." The Porpoise, under the Pod's control, released a bright flash of light. "Scanning … I have decided to name this object the 'Primitive Propulsion Mechanism'. Its design and color remind of a Wollywog's foot. I'm willing to bet that if a pair of these was placed on your feet, your swimming ability would be greatly enhanced. I will send four pairs right away."

"Thank you very much," replied Olimar. "I'm sure we will find a good use for them the next time we enter a waterlogged area. Porpoise, please terminate the link with the Pod."

"Wait a minute, I wanted to ask …"

After the Pod's connection ended, the family put away the blue Pikmin and boarded the ship, bound next for the Forest Navel.


	11. Day 10

Author's note: I own nothing new in this chapter. Thanks for the reviews, by the way, but I am still upset that nobody reviewed concerning the Goonami.

**Pikmin Worlds: Day 10**

**The Old Stomping Grounds**

The planet of the Pikmin was, for the most part, a land where the days are bright and sunny, and the nights are cold and dark. However, in the deepest part of the densest forest on the planet lies an area blocked from sunlight all the time, where no flowering plants grow and the only light comes from Glowcap mushrooms. Captain Olimar had named this place the Forest Navel, because it dips beneath the canopy of the forest.

The serenity of this refuge for a medley of wildlife was interrupted by the arrival of the Porpoise and the Pikmin Onions. Sheargrubs retreated into their burrows, albino Wogpoles returned to deeper waters, and land-based Blowhogs formed into small herds. Other creatures are not so docile, however, as Olimar's family already knew too well.

As the family left the spaceship to collect a balanced party of Pikmin, Olimar instructed them on the next part of their mission. "The Forest Navel, as you can all see, is a one-of-a-kind habitat on this planet, and creatures that are found nowhere else live here. Specifically, HOSE asked me to further research the Puffstools that live here, as they still do not know whether to classify them as animals or fungi, and they currently have no samples to study." Olimar took out his notes in preparation for the study of the Puffstools, and then led the family away from the ship.

However, what the family did not know was that their ship had landed right in the middle of Arachnorb territory. Olimar noticed the shadows growing around the Pikmin, and quickly called them away before a pair of Beady Long-Legs smashed into the forest floor.

"Everyone, there has been a change in plans," called out the Captain. "We have to defeat these Beady Long-Legs before they damage the Porpoise. Julie, you and I can defeat one; kids, go for the other one."

As the Beady Long-Legs stomped towards the space ship, the two groups split their Pikmin parties into fifty each, and then split up. Olimar, having dealt with these creatures many times, threw a volley of Pikmin at the bulbous body of the creature when it stopped to catch its breath. Julie followed her husband's lead, and pretty soon all of their Pikmin were hard at work chipping away at the Arachnorb's silicone shell. When the spider-like monster reared back, Olimar quickly ordered all of the Pikmin to jump off of the body before they were hurled away.

Chip and Sadie, who were battling their first Arachnorb, were having a much harder time. Instead of being on the offensive, they kept trying to draw the Pikmin away from the creature's stomping feet. Due to their lack of experience, a few Pikmin were smashed to pieces against the ground. Chip then noticed his father's and mother's strategy, and proceeded to imitate them, throwing the Pikmin at the Beady Long Legs' body. However, he forgot to call the Pikmin back before they were hurled away, causing Sadie to recollect the loyal minions.

The other Beady Long-Legs collapsed and turned to dust in defeat at the hands of Olimar's Pikmin, but Olimar noticed that his children needed help. Bringing his band of Pikmin, the whole family easily overwhelmed the second Beady Long-Legs.

"Wow, I've never seen anything that aggressive before!" piped Chip. "Dad, were those the Beady Long-Legs that you told us about?"

"Yes, they were, son," replied Olimar. "Beady Long-Legs tend to live here in the Forest Navel as well. Well, family, there is still just enough time to go research the Puffstools."

However, as the family and their Pikmin started once more from the ship, one more Arachnorb jumped down from the high trees to eliminate the intruders in its territory. This Arachnorb was much more heavily built, had much wider feet, and was colored with black and purple stripes. With gusto much greater than the Beady Long-Legs, this robust Raging Long-Legs darted towards the Pikmin army.

"Oh, my, I had no idea that Raging Long-Legs dwell here also," stated Olimar. "Everyone, please deal with this setback while I quickly jot this down in my notes. Just imagine that it is a Beady Long-Legs with a bigger body, and you'll be fine."

Chip, excited by the chance to battle such a tough foe, rushed towards the Raging Long-Legs while Julie and Sadie were still intimidated by the giant Arachnorb. Chip immediately hurled as many Pikmin as he could at the huge target, and even remembered to call the Pikmin back before they were hurled away. However, this enraged the creature so much that it began a massive frenzy of stomps, flattening a quarter of the Pikmin. Chip was paralyzed with terror at the madness of the Raging Long-Legs, and could not avoid being pounded to the ground by one of the monster's stomps.

"Oh, no! Chip!" shouted the rest of the family in unison. Julie and Sadie rushed to help Chip while Olimar was frantically trying to put away his notes. Sadie grabbed her brother's leg and dragged him away before he was pounded again. "Are you okay, Chip?" she asked.

"I'll be okay," moaned Chip. "I'm just glad that our space suits are designed to handle this kind of abuse."

The Raging Long-Legs, still in a fit of fury, stomped towards the siblings at an alarming pace. Right before the boy and girl were smashed, though, the Arachnorb froze, its giant foot right above Chip and Sadie.

"Quick, everyone, gather the Pikmin and finish him before the Ultra-Bitter Spray wears off!" cried Olimar. Working together, the family tossed every Pikmin they had at the beast. The shell of the paralyzed monster chipped away as the Pikmin repeatedly drove their flowers into the spherical mass. All the Pikmin jumped off as the body of the Raging Long-Legs split in two, then degenerated into purple dust.

"Great work, everyone!" explained Olimar. "I guess we can study the Puffstools tomorrow. Let's put the Pikmin away and get back to the Porpoise." The family prepared to end the day as Olimar finished up his notes.

_Forest Navel: Day 10_

_Today we had planned to study the enigmatic Puffstools, but instead were ambushed by a group of Arachnorbs, consisting of two Beady Long-Legs (Pseudoarachnia Armoralis) and one Raging Long-Legs (Pseudoarachnia Furiendis). Although today marks the discovery that Raging Long-Legs inhabit the Forest Navel, more noteworthy is the fact that the two Beady Long-Legs attacked simultaneously. These creatures are normally considered to be solitary creatures with defined territorial claims, but this behavior suggests that Arachnorbs can distinguish between others of the same species and different creatures. Exactly how they do this is likely due to the fact that the signature vibrations caused by their stomping can be easily picked up by the delicate sense of touch in the feet of these creatures._

_Having eliminated the threat of the Arachnorbs, they should not return to the general area for a few days. This should allow us to study the Puffstools without any hindrances tomorrow._

Olimar put away his notes and joined his family in the Porpoise. The ship and the Onions lifted off, returning the Forest Navel to its original serenity.


	12. Day 11

Author's note: The new creature that I own in this chapter is the Crownstool. I don't own anything from the original Pikmin games. Oh, and thank you for your patience, and please excuse the brevity of this chapter; I am very busy.

**Pikmin Worlds: Day 11**

**Fungi Fresh**

The dimly lit Forest Navel lit up as the Porpoise returned with Captain Olimar's family in tow. The Pikmin Onions lightly floated down, following the space ship as it noisily landed in the clearing. Olimar left the ship, followed by his family, and they headed towards the white and purple Pikmin Onions.

"Dad, why are we only using these two kinds of Pikmin?" asked his daughter Sadie.

"The Puffstools," replied her father, "use clouds of spores as a defense against Pikmin. It is my hypothesis that White Pikmin should be immune to these spores. The Purple Pikmin should prove useful if the White Pikmin are possessed by the spores; a quick shake of the ground should snap them out of their trance."

Having explained his reasoning and gathered the desired Pikmin, Olimar led his family deep into the woods in order to find the reclusive Puffstools. "Stay together, everyone," warned the captain. Everyone huddled together as they walked past a lake where some Watery Blowhogs were wallowing. Noticing something, Julie looked up to see a flash of light in the trees above. "Honey, do any bioluminescent animals live in the Forest Navel?"

"I'm not really sure. Puffstools have glowing antennae, but I wouldn't classify them as animals."

"Yes, but do any glowing creatures fly around? I thought I saw something in the trees."

"It was probably a Glowcap Mushroom or something. Maybe it was even a Jellyfloat, but I don't think they live here. I wouldn't worry about that right now; we're almost at the nook of the woods where I last saw the Puffstools."

Sure enough, a trio of the odd mushroom creatures was lounging about in a field of Glowcap Mushrooms. Able to sense the approaching Pikmin from a distance, they began to produce thick, purple clouds of microscopic spores.

"Remember, family, we need to take one back to Hocotate for examination," explained Olimar. "First, let me test if the White Pikmin are immune to the Puffstool's spores." Snatching a single volunteer, Olimar walked forward into one of the purple clouds. To the surprise of the rest of the family, the flower on its head turned into a mushroom, its red beady eyes turned sinister and pale, and its lithe white body turned dark. Olimar quickly rushed out of the cloud before the possessed Pikmin decided to attack him, and whacked the Pikmin across the face. The mushroom host dislodged itself from the Pikmin's head, and the Pikmin turned back into its white, loyal self.

'Well, I can't be right about everything. I guess these spores do not qualify as poisonous to the Pikmin. Kids, you use the Purple Pikmin to handle one of these Puffstools, while your mother and I return these White Pikmin before they get hurt.

Splitting up, Olimar and Julie took the fifty White Pikmin and headed back to the Porpoise, while Chip and Sadie approached one of the Puffstools. Olimar looked back on his children with confidence that they would be able to get the job done. However, as he was not looking where he was going, he jumped up when his wife let out a startled shout.

"Honey, what on Hocotate is that!" Olimar turned around to see another type of mushroom creature, only this one was twice the size of a Puffstool. Thick thorns ringed the head of the creature, and it was heading straight for the Pikmin. As Olimar started to take out his notepad, Julie yelled, "Can't that wait until after we get rid of this thing?"

"Oh, I guess so," replied her husband, reluctantly putting away his notes. Olimar called away the Pikmin from the creature, which was thrashing about and knocking off the minions' flowers, and divided them with Julie. The couple started throwing the Pikmin at the mushroom monster, which easily fell over due to the weight added to its oversized head. Olimar made a mental note that the creature was not releasing any spores.

The creature proved to not have much stamina, and quickly wilted after flailing about on the ground. As Olimar ordered the Pikmin to carry the body back to the ship, Chip and Sadie arrived, along with the Purple Pikmin carrying a Puffstool. "Hey, Dad, we think that the Purple Pikmin may be immune to the Puffstool's spores," said Chip. "Do you have any reason why?"

"Wow, that is very interesting and unexpected, but I think I might have an explanation." Olimar took out his notes as the entire team returned to the Porpoise.

_Forest Navel: Day 11_

_Today marked the study of the Faungi family, made up of the Puffstools (Boletus Zombiferis) and a new species recently discovered. During a sample recovery of a Puffstool body, however, an equally notable breakthrough was made: Purple Pikmin seem to be able to fight off the parasitic spores released by the Puffstool. This likely is due to the burly Pikmin's body mass, which may be able to absorb foreign bodies better than the other Pikmin subspecies._

_The new species discovered today has been named the Crownstool (Boletus Spinosus), named after the ring of thorns on its head. Instead of the biological defense of the Puffstool, the Crownstool prefers to battle enemies to protect itself. Despite its larger size and intimidating thorns, the Crownstool is surprisingly weaker than the more common Puffstools, which may explain its rarity._

_Also noteworthy is the fact that a member of my family reported to see a flash of light in the trees, and I cannot think of any creature in the Forest Navel that would cause such a phenomenon. If it is a new species, then I will try as hard as I can tomorrow to draw the elusive organism out and document its existence._

Finishing his notes, Olimar stepped onto the Porpoise, and his family and the Pikmin blasted off into the night sky.


	13. Day 12

Author's note: I own the Bullet Spectralid in this chapter. I'm very proud of him, so please review what you think of him.

**Pikmin Worlds: Day 12**

**The Beacons Beckon**

Captain Olimar labored vigorously at his pilot's seat, setting all of the Porpoise's scanners to find any flying balls of light on the planet surface. However, nothing was picked up at all, and Olimar hung his head in shame. Taking the microphone, he spoke, "Are you sure there isn't even one sign of a flying, light-emitting insect?"

"Affirmative, Captain," droned the robotic voice of the supercomputer. "The entire Forest Navel has been scanned, and results have proven negative. Perhaps what your wife witnessed yesterday was some sort of illusion."

"I don't understand how an illusion can move in the way Julie described," replied the Captain. "Keep scanning when we land; maybe the light can only be seen from the ground."

"Affirmative, Captain, but my scanners would have been able to detect such a light from the air, due to the reflective properties of light." The Porpoise noisily landed on the forest floor, followed closely by the Pikmin Onions. The family hopped out of the ship and decided to withdraw a balanced team of Pikmin.

"Okay, honey, can you show us where you saw the glowing object?" asked Olimar. Julie nodded her head and led the family back down the route taken yesterday. After passing the shallow lake of Watery Blowhogs, she pointed straight up into the trees. "You cannot see it right now, but it was right between those two branches." Olimar stepped next to his wife, but also did not see anything. "Are you sure this is the right spot?" he asked.

"Yes, definitely," she replied.

"Oh, oh, can we take a look too?" asked Chip, running to his father's side. Sadie also joined in to try to find any hint of a flying glowing object. It was then that the whole family saw a flash of light in the trees.

"Wow, this is more stunning than you described!" said Olimar, who took out his notes. Indeed, the light was flashing quickly on and off, emitting all of the colors of the rainbow. As the family watched the beautiful sight in the trees, the faint sound of bells could be heard. Even the Pikmin looked up to see the dazzling light. Suddenly, with a loud "Bang!" the light disappeared. Olimar was about to try and think of an explanation for this phenomenon, when he heard a high pitch squeal of pain behind him. Turning around, he saw one of his yellow Pikmin slowly being devoured by a small yet menacing-looking insect with two pairs of apparently metallic wings, a fuzzy black body, feathery white antennae, and two navy blue eyes.

"Quick, everyone, we're under attack!" called Olimar, grabbing a purple Pikmin. The moth-like creature glanced at Olimar and quickly vanished in another flash of light.

"Wow, that thing is fast!" piped Chip, who was pointing at a tree stump where the insect had just landed.

"Then we better split up to cover more ground," yelled his father. Another flash was lit up the area, followed quickly by a "Bang!" and Olimar noticed the purple Pikmin he was holding had disappeared. Sadie spotted the creature calmly snacking on the Pikmin on a high tree branch. Angrily, she called the remaining yellow Pikmin towards her and threw them up at the branch, but the bug disappeared just before it was hit. "We can't even touch this thing!" she yelled in a frustrated voice. "Dad, can't you stun it with that purple spray?"

"It's no use; it's too fast of a target. Everyone, huddle up and gather the Pikmin; we need a plan fast." The family gathered all the Pikmin, except for a white one being grabbed by the bug. "Wait, white Pikmin are poisonous; perhaps that is how we can beat that thing," said Olimar. However, the flying bug was apparently as smart as it was fast, as it threw the white Pikmin into the lake. Sighing and shaking his head, Olimar continued, "We need to brainstorm how we can lure the insect to us. First we must …"

Olimar was now interrupted by the sound of bells above him. For some reason, the insect was hovering just inches above him, once again emitting multicolored light. Chip quickly threw a blue Pikmin, but the bug caught it in midair and landed on the stump to eat it. "Stop that, Chip, we can't just throw Pikmin randomly, we need to come up with a plan. Do you understand?"

"I sure do, Dad!" said Chip, nodding his head. However, the insect immediately returned, and Chip started to grab a red Pikmin. "Don't throw that Pikmin, Chip, that's just what it wants you to do." The bug then unexpectedly landed right next to Sadie and started to feel around her helmet with its antennae. "Dad, this thing is taunting me!" cried the daughter. A light bulb then went on over Olimar's head. Grabbing her daughter's and wife's hands, he started to run away from the insect. "Dad, what are you doing?" called out Chip, who was trying to keep up. The bug, meanwhile, followed the family from the air, emitting wondrous light and sound. Olimar ran and ran in seemingly random directions with his family, watching the insect follow their every move. Olimar stopped a just within calling distance from the Pikmin, and the moth-like creature landed right next to him. Slowly approaching the insect, Olimar circled to its side then, to the surprise of both the family and the bug, gave a swift punch to one of the four wings. The bug quickly emitted a flash of light and took to the air, but crashed right into the stump.

"How on Hocotate did you do that?" asked his wife. Her husband replied "I will explain later; right now we must defeat that menace while it's still incapacitated." The insect flapped about on the ground; with the wing Olimar had dislocated earlier moving out of sync with the others, while the Pikmin swarmed the bug. As leaves and flowers thwacked against the exoskeleton, the insect started to vibrate, and with one last flash of light, all four of its wings shot out of its body at crazy angles in its final attempt to subdue the Pikmin. Taking twenty with it, the bug collapsed cold onto the ground. A strange blue sac came out of its mouth right before the body stopped twitching.

The family watched in shock until it was safe, then Olimar ordered the remaining Pikmin to carry the new species and the bag to the Porpoise. "T'was beauty that killed the beast," said Olimar solemnly.

"I'm confused," said his wife. "What do you mean?"

"I'll explain it to you in the ship. Right now I have to take notes." Olimar then took out his notepad and did just that.

_Forest Navel: Day 12_

_The previously unknown source of light seen yesterday has been identified as a new member of the Flitterbie family, though unlike other members of its family, the Bullet Spectralid (Fenestari Velociter) has adapted many features that distinguish it as an ambush predator, such as the large eyes and high intelligence. This species is remarkable fast; able to create sonic booms as they dive towards their prey, but even more remarkably is the speed at which they flap their wings. Trace bits of chromium metal in the wings reacting at this high speed emit light and the shape of the wings cause them to create a bell-like sound as they come into contact with air. Individuals find mates based on the patterns of light created by the wings, and therefore the Bullet Spectralid can become attracted to standard Hocotatian helmet beacons. I am always amazed at the wide range of biodiversity on this planet, and believe this species to be a perfect example of adaptation to a specific niche in the ecosystem._

"Olimar, you twit, pay attention!" Olimar jumped up and found the Porpoise beaming up the blue bag, having apparently already made a link with the Pod. "That's much better," buzzed the voice of the Pod. "Hmm… this bag contains an interesting compound that absorbs heat. I'm willing to bet this would make fine antifreeze for your ship. I will call it the 'Greedy Goo Sac'. Landing in a very hot landscape should now be possible without burning out your engine."

"Great," replied Olimar, "we will look for such a place tomorrow. Oh, and you should never call the captain a twit."

"Now disconnecting," said the Pod angrily. Olimar and his family entered the Porpoise and lifted off, while Olimar explained the battle with the Bullet Spectralid.


	14. Day 13

Author's note: I own the Dune Burrow-nit, plus everything that I owned in previous chapters.

**Pikmin Worlds: Day 13**

**Just Deserts**

_My travels on this Pikmin planet have been truly amazing. Not only am I learning about the mysteries of life, I am learning so much more about my father. I hardly ever get to see him at home, and when I do he is always hard at work. This family mission has showed me how lucky I am to have such a smart and caring father. I feel somehow obligated to repay him somehow, but what could I possibly do to_

"Sadie! Please report to the front of the ship; we are disembarking!" called out Captain Olimar. Sadie carefully stowed away her diary and hurried to the warp pod. After bathing in the rainbow light of the warp, she found the rest of her family standing on a clump of dry grass near the Pikmin Onions. Beyond the landing site all she could see was an endless expanse of sand and rocks. "Dad, where are we? Where is everything?"

"We are in the middle of this planet's largest desert, which I have named the Sea of Sand," explained her father. "You may think that this place is barren, but the Porpoise detected a myriad of life just beneath the surface. Help Chip get some Red Pikmin out; they won't wilt in this heat like the other Pikmin."

Sadie walked to the Red Onion to join her brother, but jumped up when a flash of green shot out of the sand. "Calm down, Sadie, that's just a harmless Flint Beetle," advised her father. "But I do warn you that many dangerous creatures live underground, so be prepared for anything here."

Sadie gingerly continued walking to the Red Onion, where her brother already had all 100 Pikmin raring to go. "Here are 25 for you, sis! Here, take these 50 to Mom and Dad!" After distributing the red Pikmin, it was time to start exploring the area.

"Hey, family, I want you to look at these rocks for a minute," stated Olimar.

"But Dad, I want to fight the dangerous creatures in the sand!" whined Chip.

"I know you do, but look at these rocks first. Do you see the faint eye markings? I believe that some of these rocks are actually a subspecies of the Cloaking Burrow-Nit disguising themselves as rocks. Stay close while I try to coax one to move." Olimar, with his Pikmin close behind, headed to the end of the rock without the eye markings. Sure enough, the rock started stirring and revealed itself to be a Burrow-Nit. One quick swarming was all it took to down the insect. "Let me write this down quickly in my notes. Everyone can go exploring; I will catch up with you later. Just pay attention and don't let any creatures catch you by surprise."

With Olimar temporarily gone, his wife Julie stepped up as the temporary leader.

"Now, kids, we should stay close to the Porpoise, and not get separated."

"But Mom, I want to explore and see what dangerous things are in the sand!" moaned Chip.

"I think its best that we wait for your father before we head of any farther from the landing site. Now, let's head away from these Burrow-Nits."

Just as they were walking away, another flash of green shot out of the sand, and this time it wasn't a Flint Beetle. With a loud crowing, a pair of Burrowing Snarrows reared back in an attempt to ambush the family and their Pikmin.

"EEK!" cried Sadie. "I better get Dad to help us!"

"No way, we can take them on!" shouted Chip, who was already throwing Pikmin rapidly at the feathered head of one of the snake-birds. Julie was futilely calling her Pikmin to swarm the other Snarrow, which did little more than allow the Snarrow to reach its meal more easily.

"Mom, Olimar told us that if we ever saw a Snavian creature we should aim for its head!" called out Chip as three Pikmin were devoured by the creature. Sadie quickly called the Pikmin away, and both Snarrows retreated into the ground. "Thank goodness that's over," she sighed, relieved. However, both of the determined birds resurfaced behind the family. Chip was able to finish off the injured one with a volley of red Pikmin, and started attacking the other one. The Burrowing Snarrow burrowed once more into the sand.

"Come out, you chicken!" called out Chip. The sand did not even stir. "Well, I must have scared it away." Chip ordered his Pikmin to carry the head of the defeated Snarrow back to the Red Onion, while he went to sit down on a nearby rock.

"I'm back, everyone!" called out Olimar as he ran to his family. "I saw the end of that battle with those Snarrows, you did a great job! Snarrows like to hunt in groups, so I don't think that other one will return anytime soon. It's getting late, everyone, so let's head back to the Porpoise."

"Just a minute, Dad, I want to rest my legs," Chip called down from the rock.

"Chip! What are you doing on that thing! Get down this instant!"

"Don't worry, I already checked for eye markings, and there are none."

"You don't understand! Get off before…"

"Dad, there's no hurry to get back to the Porpoise!" shouted Chip, pounding his fist on the rock for emphasis. Suddenly, the rock started quaking, causing Chip to fall off. As he got up, he realized that he was sitting on the back of a juvenile Emperor Bulblax.

"Everybody, hurry back to the Porpoise! I'll deposit the Red Pikmin!" shouted Olimar. Everyone ran in sheer terror as the groggy monster let out a terrifying roar. It did not take long to reach the landing site. "Start the engines, I'll be there in a second!" cried the captain as the Bulblax stomped towards the Porpoise. The red Pikmin retreated into the Onion, and Olimar beamed himself up into the ship right before it took off. The Porpoise took to the sky along with the Onions, leaving a very angry Grub-Dog stomping around below. Olimar took some time to catch his breath before he finished off his notes.

_Sea of Sand: Day 13_

_Today we landed in a vast desert, similar in many ways to the dry wastelands found commonly on Hocotate, except for the almost unbearable heat. However, many creatures survive in this harsh environment by living underground to avoid the glaring sun. We discovered a new creature, the Dune Burrow-Nit (Trilobitins Saburra), which evolved a camouflage suited for the desert environment, but is in every other way identical to the Cloaking Burrow-Nit._

_I am still worried about my son Chip. He treats our mission like a game; he is only interested in fighting the creatures of this planet and takes no time to admire their beauty. I hope that I can get through to him so he can realize that the animals he sees as enemies are only acting on there own instinct and he should only act in his own defense, not actively seek battle. I find each creature on this planet beautiful in its own way, even the most frightful ones; I just wish that my family can learn to think this as well._


	15. Day 14

Author's note: I own nothing new in this chapter, but I would like to restate that I own Neville T. Resting and HOSE.

**Pikmin Worlds: Day 14**

**All That Glitters**

"Oh yes, yes, I like this very much!" stated the President of Hocotate Freight, referring to what he saw before him. HOSE's superintendent, N. T. Resting, had invited the President to HOSE's planet headquarters, where they were currently experimenting with the most impressive of the treasures found on the Pikmin planet: the elusive Lustrous Element. Neville, a short bald man with thick glasses and a big nose, was explaining the newfound properties of this marvelous substance.

"This element will revolutionize our economy! Not only does it shine brilliantly, but it never tarnishes!" spoke Neville. "It is also highly malleable, ductile, and conducts electricity better than anything found on Hocotate! All it lacks is a name. I was suggesting 'gold', due to its color, but I thought the name should be chosen by its founder."

"Gold? What kind of name is that?" laughed the President. "I much prefer the simpler name 'lustrum'."

"Thank you very much, Mr. President! By the way, have you heard any word about Louie?"

"He still thinks that he is the King of Bugs," stated the President gravely. "He keeps telling the doctors that he must go back to the Pikmin planet, saying stuff like 'Olimar doesn't know what he's getting into,' or 'the bugs need me for protection.' He's a tough boy, though. I'm sure that he'll be cured soon."

Meanwhile, one of the scientists suddenly left from his post and started dashing towards the superintendent. "Dr. Resting, Dr. Resting, the Porpoise detected something big!" Neville's eyes widened as he read the documents the scientist shoved into his hands. "Mr. President, the Porpoise detected a large deposit of lustrum underneath the Sea of Sand! Think about the wonderful possibilities for our planet!"

"Your right, Dr. Resting, this could pay for the whole mission! Get me a link to Olimar right away!"

Captain Olimar was abruptly stirred from his sleep as the monitor turned on. "Olimar, quickly, go down to the surface and dig for more of that Lustrous Element, which shall now be known as lustrum!" demanded the yelling head of the President.

Olimar replied through the built in microphone on the cockpit, but was still drowsy. "I thought we were done collecting treasure. Isn't this mission about science, not Pokos?"

"Don't speak to your boss like that! Plus, you should start now before the surface gets too hot for the Pikmin!" The President logged out, and the monitor was replaced with the coordinates for the location of the precious metal. Before the captain could do anything, the Porpoise flew down to the planet, while the Onions faithfully followed behind. After the Porpoise noisily landed, the other members reluctantly beamed out into the twilit surface.

"Dad!" whined Sadie, "it's far too early to start now! How am I supposed to get some sleep? Don't the more dangerous monsters hunt at night?"

"I apologize, everyone, but this was the President's orders. I know everyone is cranky, but let's just try and work this out. Chip, you go get thirty white Pikmin and order them to dig 23 units southwest of here; they will know where to dig. Sadie, go get thirty-five red Pikmin and an equal number of yellow Pikmin and meet up with Chip and the rest of us."

"Honey, what exactly are we doing? Is everything all right?" asked Olimar's wife.

"We're mining," said Olimar, and he left it at that. The couple started following Chip, who was eager to start, to the site, while keeping an eye out for danger. Fortunately, although unpleasant, the Emperor Bulblax from before was occupying itself with the fresh corpse of a Burrowing Snarrow, and therefore paid no attention to the Pikmin. By the time Sadie got to the site, the white Pikmin had dug a nice shallow tunnel into the sand.

"Julie, you stay up here with the red Pikmin and guide them to the ship while they carry each sample of metal. Kids, come join me inside the tunnel with the other Pikmin, which will bring the metal to the red Pikmin outside." Having completed his instructions, Olimar lazily led the way into the cave.

"Dad, what kind of metal are we looking for?" asked Sadie cautiously, knowing that her father was in a bad mood. Olimar managed to smile a bit. "I'll let that be a surprise."

After a surprisingly short trek, both Chip and Sadie gasped in awe at the humongous chamber they were entering. Tall columns of small cylinders of lustrum lined the stone walls of the cavern, and the rising sun caused the room to sparkle brilliantly. "Wow, this certainly made my day!" said Sadie, trying to cheer Olimar up.

"I don't know where to start!" called out Chip. Calling forth the speedy white Pikmin, he headed towards a lone sample near the entrance. As he approached the metal, however, it sprouted legs and started to walk around. "Dad, does lustrum walk?"

Olimar suddenly snapped back into reality. "Chip, what color are those legs?"

"They're gold like the lustrum, of course."

"Chip, attack that lustrum with yellow Pikmin, not white ones!" the captain called out. Olimar's voices echoed around the chamber, causing many more samples of lustrum to start walking around.

"Oh, I get it, these must be Anode Dweevils!" called out Sadie. Don't worry, Dad, I'll bring the white Pikmin back to safety."

"Do that, Sadie; just don't let them wilt outside." Sadie led the white Pikmin to a safe corner of the room, and then rushed to help her family fight off the Dweevils. One by one the Dweevils fell, leaving behind a precious cylinder of lustrum, which the yellow Pikmin then carried outside for the red Pikmin to receive. This continued for several hours, and while the Pikmin were still going strong, the family was getting progressively more exhausted.

"How many Dweevils are there?" cried Sadie as she threw on of the eared servants at another of the spider-like Dweevils. "We must have defeated at least twenty by now!"

Even Chip was starting to get tired of fighting. "Dad, we should have enough lustrum by now! Can we please go back to the Porpoise?"

"I'm sorry, but we can't leave until it is close to sunset, and the surface is cool enough to bring the Pikmin back to the Onions," groaned Olimar. Though the numbers of Dweevils didn't seem to diminish one bit, Olimar noticed that they were becoming less aggressive as more of their kind fell to the Pikmin.

At last, Julie called down to the rest of the family, "It's almost sunset, let's go back to the ship now and get some rest." Chip whistled for all the yellow Pikmin to follow him, then sped out of the tunnel. "Sadie, could you please retrieve the white Pikmin for me?" asked her father. Sadie did just that, but Olimar suddenly rushed to her and started to pound the white Pikmin to submission.

"Dad, how could you?" called Sadie. "Hush, Sadie, and listen for chirping. Didn't you notice the yellow eyes? Some Kissing Beetles must have snatched our white Pikmin during the fight, and there are twelve missing!" Olimar checked his radar, but could not find any white Pikmin in the area. "They must have gotten away. Sadie, please try to be more careful with the Pikmin next time." Both upset family members gathered the remaining eighteen Pikmin and headed back to the ship. Olimar, meanwhile, was writing angrily in his notes.

_Sea of Sand: Day 14_

_I am very upset by the apparent priorities of HOSE. How could they, of all people, put profit over knowledge? The true wealth for their mission should be wisdom, and the only treasure I need is my family. Gathering lustrum today did little more than stall the mission and make my family miserable, not to mention the needless loss of twelve Pikmin. I am going to file a complaint to the President to be more considerate and stop thinking about Pokos all the time._

Shoving the notes away, Olimar beamed himself into the Onion, and started typing an e-mail to HOSE furiously as the Porpoise lifted off into the night sky.


	16. Day 15

Author's note: I own the Bludgeoning Blitzard. I would also appreciate some reviews regarding my Blitzard!

**Pikmin Worlds: Day 15**

**Chip Off the Old Block**

A large wave scattered from the Sea of Sand as the Porpoise landed hard on the desert's surface. Captain Olimar was the first to beam out of the ship, still quite upset. Though the President had been very understanding and allowed the family to continue with the mission as scheduled, Olimar was upset that the mission was almost half over and he hadn't spent much time simply spending time with his family. He felt that fighting hostile creatures was not the best way to bond with his family, and instead planned on simply categorizing the plants in the area. This would give him plenty of time to have more personal conversations with his wife and kids.

As the rest of his family warped onto the sand, Olimar told his plan. "I realize that everyone is still upset about being forced to mine for lustrum yesterday, so today we are going to take it easy. No battling or Pikmin will be necessary today, it will just be us four."

"That's boring!" whined Chip. "I wanted to fight that Emperor Bulblax today! It's not fair that you got to battle at least ten of them on your other missions and I can't fight any!"

"If we find another Bulblax around, maybe I will let you battle it, but today is devoted to family time," said Olimar sternly.

"But I was waiting all night!" moaned Chip. "You're not being fair!"

"Listen to your father, Chip," said Julie.

"No! No! No!" Chip stormed off to the red Onion and started to bring out fifty Pikmin.

"Chip, you better put those Pikmin back right now!" yelled Olimar. Chip ignored him and started to head out. "Come back here this instant!" The captain began rushing to his son, but was stopped by Julie. "I think Chip needs some alone time right now, dear."

"Julie, he doesn't know what he's doing. He could get hurt!"

Chip glanced back for a second to see his parents fighting. He hated to see this, but right now he was too angry at his father to care much. All he wanted to do during this trip was to have an adventure just like his father did. Back at home he had seen his father as some sort of hero, a brave general of sorts who could always lead his army to victory. Now his father was just an overbearing parent. Chip looked one of the Pikmin that was following him and said, "Lucky plant, I bet Olimar never forced you to back away from an enemy." The Pikmin stared blankly back at Chip, obviously not understanding a word he was saying. Chip sighed as he and the Pikmin reached an area full of rocks.

"Okay, big bad Bulblax, I know you're around here somewhere." Chip walked to the first rock he saw and threw his Pikmin at it. The rock did not move: it was just a rock. Chip then tried the biggest rock in the area, but it also did not budge. A third rock turned out to be a Dune Burrow-Nit; a quick swarming took care of the bug. Not bothering to return the body to the Onion, Chip headed farther from the Porpoise, only to stumble into a large depression in the sand.

"Oh, you're trying to trap me, eh? Well I still have all my Pikmin on my side!" Chip then noticed a shallow hole in the sand. "You can't hide from Chip, so show yourself, foul insect!" Chip jumped up when the sand shifted a bit, but nothing came out. Growing impatient, Chip threw one of his Pikmin into the hole. The sand started moving much more vigorously, and the sound of shrieking came from the hole. "Aha! I knew you were in there!" Slowly, a great scaly yellow head emerged from the hole, followed by two stout, clawed arms. Chip stepped back; this was definitely not an Emperor Bulblax. The reptilian monster headed straight towards Chip as more of his body climbed out of the burrow. Its equally strong hind legs pushed the rest of its long body out of the hole, revealing a bulbous, spine-studded tail. Chip watched as the creature opened its toothless mouth, revealing its bright red tongue. After this silent roar, the reptile headed right past Chip and towards the red Pikmin.

"You might not be a Bulblax, but I can still beat you!" yelled Chip to the silent beast. The boy called the Pikmin away from the head of the beast and threw several onto the large yellow target of a tail. This was a bad move, as the reptile slammed its tail hard into the ground, flattening seven Pikmin and hurling three others far away. The beast slowly turned its heavy body to face Chip, who retaliated by starting throwing Pikmin all over its head. The beast lazily licked the Pikmin off and swallowed.

"_This is not working at all,_" thought Chip. "_But I can't call for help now, after yelling at Dad. I wonder what he would do…_" Chip was cut off as the thick tail of the beast slapped him hard into the sand. Chip struggled to get his aching body out of the sand as he watched the red Pikmin running aimlessly around the giant lizard. Chip called them towards him without really thinking, and realized that he only had nineteen Pikmin left. It was then that the words of his father came into his head: "_Throwing Pikmin accurately is the most effective way to pass any obstacle we meet on this planet._"

Chip knew he had to think quickly, so he started running off to the left side of the creature. The lizard swung its tail around hard, but Chip dove out of the way just in time. Choosing a new target, Chip grabbed a Pikmin and aimed carefully while still avoiding the dangerous tail. With perfect timing, he threw the Pikmin onto the reptile's neck, where it started whacking the back of the head. The creature stopped swaggering in order to try to shake the Pikmin off, but this gave Chip the opportunity to hurl the rest of his small army onto the beast. Chip could tell that the lizard was in great pain due to the way it closed its eyes tightly shut and started to make loud puffing sounds. Before Chip could declare victory, however, the beast rolled onto its back, hurling the Pikmin sideways. Chip reclaimed the Pikmin as the reptile bent its tail towards its mouth and clamped down on it, while at the same time holding the tail down with its front claws. The boy quickly realized that he had to get the Pikmin out of the path of this giant scaly wheel.

"Boy, this thing is tough!" shouted Chip out loud, both in fear and in sheer exhilaration. He tried avoiding the wheel by leading the Pikmin in a zigzagging path, yet the beast proved to have excellent handling. Chip found himself running closer to the edge of the shallow pit, and the lizard was already dangerously close to squashing the rest of his Pikmin. In an act of boldness, Chip ordered the Pikmin to start climbing out of the pit. The lizard rammed into the soft sand just below Chip as he was rushing up the slope. Exhausted, the lizard uncurled its body and started to pant heavily. With his remaining strength, Chip threw the Pikmin at the creature's neck, where they continued whacking at the raw spot they were working earlier. Chip soon heard a horrible snapping sound, and then watched as the lizard collapsed to the ground, its neck having been broken.

Chip as he was breathing heavily, gasped, "That … was … awesome! I can't wait … to tell Dad … all about it!" Chip ordered the Pikmin to carry the body back to the Onions, but it was way too heavy for them, so he went back to get more Pikmin to carry the corpse. When he got to the Porpoise, he saw the rest of his family already there.

"Hey, everyone, I have big news! I'll show you after I get some more Pikmin!" Chip ran to his family, stumbling over the sand in his excitement.

"Slow down, son," stated Olimar, seeing that Chip needed to catch his breath. "Listen, I know I may have been hard with you earlier, and I am sorry about that. However, you still disobeyed me, and I cannot ignore ..."

Chip wasn't listening, and Olimar saw that he was dragging his sister Sadie back in the direction he had come, along with forty red Pikmin. Olimar was stunned when he saw them approaching the body of an immense reptile, but this did not mean that he was still angry at Chip.

"See, Sadie? It used the tail to smash everything, and its tongue licked up a bunch of Pikmin, and it rolled around like this!" As he was rolling around in a ball on the ground, Chip noticed the stern face of his father above him. "I see that you just defeated what sounds like a very dangerous creature. You could have been hurt very badly, Chip."

"I'm fine!" pouted Chip. "I know how to use Pikmin, Dad!"

"You're not as experienced as me, Chip. I will not let my son run into danger like that, especially dangers that I don't know about."

"That's not fair! You got to run into new dangers alone almost every day when you first came here, even when you didn't know how to use Pikmin at all! Why can't I have adventures like you, Dad?"

Olimar could not reply to this. His son was right; it took many days for Olimar to control Pikmin skillfully. Chip didn't want to fight enemies because he liked violence; he wanted to fight so he could be just like his number one role model. And hadn't Olimar complained to his own boss only last night.

Finally, Olimar said, "Chip, you must be getting pretty comfortable with the Pikmin if you took that reptilian creature down yourself. Why don't you tell me about it, and I can record what you say in my notes?"

Chip beamed at his father. "Okay! Let me just get the Pikmin to carry it back to the Onion first. What are you going to call that thing, anyway?"

"As its discoverer, you get to name it, Chip."

"Wow, that's so cool! I know! It's a big and strong lizard that attacks really fast with its spiky tail, like its holding a bludgeon, so it can be called the Bludgeoning Blitzard!"

"That's a pretty good name," said Olimar, writing in his notes. As Chip explained the battle, Olimar filled in more information in his notes.

_Sea of Sand: Day 15_

_Today's discovery shall be credited to my son Chip, who found and fought the creature. He himself has named the creature (although I have added the binomial nomenclature)._

_The Bludgeoning Blitzard (Malacoda Plagosus) is currently the only member of the Blitzard family known on this planet, as well as the only true reptile. Easily distinguished by its bright yellow head and red tongue, the Blitzard is apparently nocturnal, absorbing heat from the sand during the day and normally hunting at night. It escapes from the sun's rays by making a shallow burrow in the sand, which also can be used to trap small prey._

_The key feature of the Bludgeoning Blitzard is the tough, bulky tail surrounded by sharp spines, which its name is derived from. The Blitzard's stocky frame allows it to lift its heavy body and swivel its body around quite swiftly, using its tail as a counterbalance. This action is its main method of defense, though it also has the capability of rolling into a ball._

_Today marks the halfway point of our mission, and I have noticed that my family members are beginning to handle Pikmin like professionals. I now feel that together we will be able to face any challenge with the Pikmin, no matter how dangerous._

Olimar, having already entered the Porpoise while taking notes from his son, put the notes away. The Porpoise and the Onions blasted into the sky, headed for new, uncharted lands.


	17. Day 16

Author's note: I own nothing new in this chapter. I apologize if this chapter is sub par, but I have been busy and I am a bit out of practice. The next chapter will certainly be more exciting.

**Pikmin Worlds: Day 16**

**The Energy Field**

"Crackle! Crackle! Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz!" The Porpoise's control panel made wonderfully annoying sounds as Captain Olimar pounded on it mercilessly. "Computer!" cried the captain angrily, "I need you to repair the Geiger counter on this ship; it started going haywire and it won't stop!"

"Captain, my sensors indicate that there is nothing wrong with the onboard Geiger counter," droned the onboard computer's voice over the intercom. "The instruments are indeed picking up a large amount of radiation."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Captain, you are aware that the Geiger counter's function is to detect radiation, correct?"

"Of course I do!" In reality, though, Olimar had never learned what the annoying clicking instrument was used for. "It's just that all space suits are shielded against radiation nowadays, so I don't need to know about it anymore."

"Affirmative, Captain. Would you like to investigate the source of this radiation? A course can be set to land in said area immediately."

Olimar was confused. "The radiation is coming from the planet? Computer, make another scan. Are you sure that there were no solar flares or any other similar activity?"

"Scan complete. The radiation's source is on the planet with 100 certainty."

"Set the course to land, then; I want to investigate."

The Porpoise hurtled toward the planet surface, its white nozzle pointed directly towards a patch of land below. Olimar looked out of the window and took out is notes to write down the description of the area. Shallow pools of stagnant water settled into the soil right next to small clumps of reeds. Not a tree was in sight, but the sight of some Unmarked Spectralids proved that this area could support life. The most unusual aspect of this small meadow was the fact that the grass covering its surface refused to grow in certain places, forming an eerie pattern of brown paths in the mud. The Porpoise landed inside of a perfectly circular mud ring, with the Onions following close behind.

Captain Olimar hustled out of the ship, almost dropping his notes in his hurry. "Honey, Chip, Sadie, we don't have much time, as it is already noon. Go gather a small party of Pikmin and let's see if we can find the source of this radiation."

Julie hesitated for a moment. "Would the radiation hurt the Pikmin?"

"No, it's not strong enough," was the reply. Olimar was carrying a handheld Geiger counter and was pointing it in seemingly random directions. Julie and the kids joined the father along with thirty red Pikmin.

"Okay, everyone, keep your eyes open while I try to find the source." The group had hardly taken a step when an unusual glow appeared in midair. Chip instinctively threw a Pikmin into the air, causing the Honeywisp to drop its egg. The ground was so soft, though, that the egg did not break.

"Dad, was that the source of radiation?"

"No, that was just a Honeywisp. Feel free to check that egg, though."

"Okay!" Chip ordered the Pikmin to swarm the egg, but as soon as it was opened, they ran madly away from a swarm of Mitites. The kids gathered the runaway Pikmin as the harmless yet odorous insects burrowed into the mud. "Hey Dad, I have a question." asked Sadie. "How do Mitites get into Honeywisp eggs?"

"I'm sorry, Sadie, I can't hear you," spoke the captain, who was still trying to find the source of the radiation. Finally, a very fed up Julie marched up to her husband. "Olimar, I'm starting to think you're working too hard. What you need is a few days off. We're all going to bring these Pikmin back to their Onion and it's straight back to the Porpoise!"

"What are you saying, Julie? I'm not overworked at all. I'm in the best shape of my life, I can work through this mission, and I'm … OOF!" sputtered the captain as Julie grabbed his helmet beacon. "At least let me write down my notes!" he cried, but Julie snatched the papers away from her husband. "No, I don't want you to even think about work for a few days. You never got the break you earned from your previous mission, and it's taking a toll on your mind. The kids and I can handle ourselves while you relax."

Seeing that it was pointless to argue, and his notes were gone, Olimar started making mental notes in his head as he was dragged back to the ship.

_Maybe Julie is right. I feel like I have been focusing more on the mission than I have on the family. I'm sure Julie knows what's best for all of us, but this place … I cannot put my finger on it, but something is very wrong here. The reading on the Geiger counter is the same everywhere on the ground, but it should be getting stronger as it gets closer to the source. I must remember to call this place the Enigmatic Meadow in my notes …_

Olimar was still thinking to himself as Julie took his helmet off back on the ship. Leading her husband to the sleeping quarters, Julie gently helped him into a nap sack. "Don't worry, dear, you will not be disappointed," Julie whispered, giving her husband a tender kiss on the nose. As the Porpoise drifted in orbit, Olimar drifted into a well-deserved slumber.


End file.
